Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Saitama Police Officer Arrested Over Theft of Seized Anime Trading Cards

Investigators say the 25-year-old admitted selling eight of nine cards for ¥742,500 to finance horse-race bets.

Overview

  • Toshiyuki Fujioka, 25, was detained on suspicion of taking nine trading cards from the Hanyu station evidence storage.
  • Police say he sold eight cards at buyback shops in Saitama and Tokyo for a total of ¥742,500 and spent the proceeds on betting.
  • The items were evidence from an October 4 store theft in Hanyu that he had been assigned to investigate.
  • Another investigator noticed the nine cards missing on November 25, leading to checks that traced the sales and recovered one card at his home.
  • The prefectural police oversight office noted he had served at Hanyu since September 2023 and pledged strict action based on the investigation.