Police have arrested a couple in Saitama for allegedly using their children to steal goods from an electronics store.

According to police, the couple's daughter, aged 8, and son, aged 5, were caught on CCTV cameras stealing goods, including a video recorder and an LCD TV, from electronic goods stores in Warabi on July 14 and 15.

TBS reported Friday that police later analyzed the security footage and arrested the children's 26-year-old mother and her 25-year-old partner, both living in Kawaguchi, for coercing their children to steal the items.

Police say the pair has confessed to using the children to commit thefts. They were quoted by police as saying: "Times were tough. We sold the goods for cash."

The items stolen were worth a total of around 200,000 yen, TBS reported.

© Japan Today