Kuchikomi Aug. 04, 2010 - 03:00PM JST ( 24 )

No, this is not a hostile tribe of native Americans, but the name for a new type of crook.

“We call them ‘the Apache tribe,’” says a licensed operator, who tells Spa! (Aug 10) they first surfaced around 2006 in the form of metal thieves who nabbed aluminum cans and other recyclable items set out for collection by contracted firms.

“They then started to diversify, driving through residential areas in light trucks and offering to collect ‘sodai gomi’ (large waste items), for which householders pay a fixed a disposal fee set by the government. But instead of transporting the items for recycling, they just dump them on a hillside or river bank,” he explains.

Should one of these operators happen to spot an expensive bicycle, baby stroller or other item that appears to have good resale value, he’ll just load it onto the bed of his truck and drive away. Or, while making rounds during the day, they’ll spot a scooter in an apartment parking lot and then come back at night to steal it.

To casual observers, such crooks appear to be engaged in honest toil; but in fact they’re audacious amateurs.

“With competition already as bad as it is, the Apaches have been making things hell for the honest operators,” the source sighs.

Lacking the savvy of professional crooks, amateur thieves have been coming up with some bold techniques on their own.

It takes perhaps 10 minutes to extract an auto navigation system from a car console. As a ready market exists for used models, such thieves can earn up to 400,000 yen in a good month.

Patrons at izakaya also also being increasingly targeted.

“They’ll grab customers’ premium brand sneakers or high heels, as well as bags and other personal belongings,” says the proprietor of a large Tokyo establishment. Such purloined goods are said to be typically fenced via web auction sites.

“We’ve always reminded customers to keep an eye on their own possessions, but they get careless after several drinks. Then they realize their property is gone, they’ll confront us, demanding, ‘You have to compensate me!’” the proprietor continues. “It’s a big problem. But even if we catch a thief in the act, he might feign drunkenness and just burp, ‘Oh, sorry. I took the wrong one.’”

Yet another new phenomenon is said to be “deriheru nusumi,” by which customers rip off the handbags of female “delivery health” (outcall sex service) employees. In the past, it was more common for women to steal watches or other valuables from their johns, but now the roles have been reversed. A 24-year-old sex worker named Misaki (a pseudonym) relates that a customer made off with her handbag while she was in the hotel shower.

“He got to play for free, plus all the money I had on me,” she complains bitterly.

Thieves have even been going after illegal drug growers. A secret marijuana patch in an isolated part of the Tokai region was picked clean one day before its owner had planned to harvest his crop. Naturally, it’s not the sort of thing the victim can report to the police. “As soon as I saw what had happened, there was nothing I could do but scram,” he’s quoted as saying. “After all, I could still get arrested and lose everything.”

In a sidebar, Spa! looks of the sort of things targeted by professional thieves. One typical modus operandi is to raid construction sites after dark to steal equipment. Metal materials left unguarded, like metal scaffolding pipes and copper cables are fetching good prices these days.

Others will look for a freight truck loaded with cargo and get paid for both.

“There aren’t as many buyers for Mercedes-Benzes as there were before,” a source in such business is quoted as saying. “These days it’s more profitable to steal trucks or heavy machinery that we can sell overseas. We can get 5 to 10 million yen for a medium weight cargo truck. The trucks have less antitheft security than high-priced cars too. Grab one that isn’t painted with a company name, and there’s little chance of getting apprehended.”