大阪汽車賊

Recently Asahi News reported the following:

車を運転すると「カラカラ」と変な音。降りて調べているすきに男が車に乗り込んで発進――。そんな被害が大阪市内で相次いでいる。乗り捨てられた車の左前のタイヤには金属片が張り付けられていて、車内の財布などが盗まれていた。捜査員の間では「カラカラ盗」とも呼ばれ、大阪府警は同一犯とみて捜査している。
　生野区の主婦（６８）は昨年１０月下旬、天王寺区の路上でセダンを発進させた直後、車の下から異音がした。車を止めて降り、しゃがんで左前部下をのぞいた。顔を上げると、フロントガラス越しに運転席の男と目があった。 男は３０代ぐらいで、白っぽい作業着に帽子とマスク姿。両手でハンドルを握っていた。助手席には財布の入ったバッグがある。「あんた何よ！　何で座っているの！」と、車の前で両手を広げて叫んだ。男は運転席から出て「何でこんなとこに車止めんねん」と言い、悠然と歩き去ったという。
　車の左前タイヤには、金属片が付いた縦５センチ横１１センチほどの薄いゴムが接着剤で張られていた。主婦が用事で車を降りた数分間に張り付けられたらしい。「走り続けたら危ないと思って降りた。偶然キーを抜いて出たのがよかった」
　２３日午後には、東成区の路上で会社員の女性（３８）が被害にあった。点検中に２０～３０代の男が突然運転席に乗り込んで逃走。女性は車のサイドミラーをつかみ、転んでけがを負った。東成署によると、女性は銀行で現金を引き出した直後で、同署は「女性の行動を観察して目をつけていたのでは。ターゲットを絞って効率的に犯行を重ねているようだ」とみる。
　大阪府警のまとめでは、同様の被害が昨年１０月末から大阪市内で計８件発生し、被害額は計約６００万円にのぼる。

When the car was driven, there was a "kara kara" strange sound. When the driver got off to examine it, a man stepped into car and drove it away. Such crime had happened successively in the Osaka city. A metal piece was found being stuck to the left front tire of this driven away and then abandoned car, and the purse in the car was stolen. Among the investigating officers, it was called" kars kara thief", and the Osaka prefecture police was looking for one suspect.

In late October last year, a housewife (68) in Ikuno Ward heard strange noise from under the car shortly after she started driving the sedan on the road in Tennoji Ward. She pulled over the car, got off, squatted down, and peeped down into the left front part. When she looked up again, she saw through the windshield a man in the driver's seat. He was a man aged around thirties, wearing a hat and a mask, and looked like wearing white work wear. Both hands were holding the steering wheel. In the passenger's seat, there was a bag that had a purse inside. She spread out her hands in front of the car and shouted "What 's the matter, why you are sitting there". Going out of the driver's seat he said "Why you stopped the car in such a way", and walked away calmly.

A thin rubber of five centimeter in length about 11 centimeter in width, with a metal piece attached was found being put on the problematic tire of the car with the adhesive. It seemed that it was stuck to the car a few minutes after the housewife got off the car to do something. ｢Get off the car if you think it is dangerous to keep on driving. It is better to take the opportunity to pull out the key. ｣

In the afternoon of the 23rd, a female company employee (38) became a victim on the road in Higashinari Ward. While checking, a man in 20s-30s suddenly entered the driver's seat and then escaped. The woman gripped the side-view mirror of the car, fell down, and sustained injuries. According to the Higashinari Police station the woman had just withdrawn some cash from the bank, the same police station saw that "The woman's behavior is being observed and having been marked down. It seems that it could efficiently select the target and to commit the crime repeatedly".

According to Osaka prefecture police' summaries, in total eight similar victimization had occurred in the Osaka city since the end on October last year, and the damage cost amounted to six million yen in total.

So, be careful if you are driving a car in Osaka city in Japan in these days.