A 24-year-old Kanagawa prefectural police officer has been arrested on suspicion of theft after he stole two cash cards from a man in his 80s and then withdrew money from his account. Police said the officer, Kazuya Kaburaki, who works in the traffic division, has admitted to the allegations and quoted him as saying he needed money because he was in debt from playing pachinko.

Kaburaki is accused of conspiring with another man, who placed a phone call to their victim by pretending to be an officer on Oct 7, Sankei Shimbun reported. The victim, who lives in Yokosuka, was told by the bogus officer that an apprehended suspect in a bank transfer scam admitted to withdrawing money from his (the victim’s) account. The caller told the elderly man that a police officer would visit him that day to make sure his cash cards were in order.

Kaburaki showed up at the man’s house and asked to see his cash cards. He then managed to swap the two cards for fake ones in an envelope which he handed back to the victim, who was unaware of the switch.

Kabauraki then left with the real cash cards and withdrew 500,000 yen from an ATM inside a convenience store in Yokohama City.

© Japan Today