Truck driver suspected of stealing 5,800 bicycle seats over 25 years

OSAKA (TR) – Osaka Prefectural Police have arrested a male truck driver who is suspected of stealing nearly 6,000 bicycle seats over the past two decades, reports Kyodo News (Feb. 28).

Last November 29 and 30, Hiroka Suda, 57, allegedly stole the seats from two bicycles parked near Yoshita Station and an apartment building in Higashiosaka City, Osaka Prefecture.

Upon his arrest on suspicion of theft on February 13, Suda admitted to the allegations. “About 25 years ago, I started stealing in Tokyo and Osaka to relieve work-related stress,” the suspect was quoted by the Kawachi Police Station. “After that, collecting became more and more fun.”

Suda is a resident of the town of Oka in Numazu City, Shizuoka Prefecture. He became a person of interest in the Higashiosaka case after an examination of security camera footage taken near the crime scenes.

According to police, the suspect rented six storage rooms near his residence to store about 5,800 seats, all of which are believed to have been stolen. The majority of the seats had been placed inside plastic bags.