Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Japanese police catch stripping bag snatcher

Japanese police have caught a serial handbag snatcher who was dubbed "the chameleon" after eluding arrest for years by stripping off as he fled the scenes of his crimes by bicycle.

Hiroshi Ishihara, a 42-year-old resident of Osaka, would wear three to five extra T-shirts or sweaters and take them off one by one as he fled, a police official said today.

"He is believed to have been snatching bags for four to five years. Our investigators had been calling him the chameleon as he changed clothes or wore camouflage outfits to merge into the background," he said.

"By the time we radioed in that the culprit was wearing black clothes, he was wearing white or red."

Police caught Ishihara earlier this month as he cycled to his parked car after being identified on security cameras.

He had confessed to snatching more than 60 handbags, but police said they suspect he was responsible for 200-300 thefts.

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