Authorities Arrest Self-Proclaimed 'Lupin of Saitama' Thief

The world's greatest thief met his match in Saitama. 33-year-old Yoshinobu Ichinotake, the self-proclaimed "Lupin of Saitama" was apprehended by officers from the Takeminami Police Station in Kawaguchi, Saitama on March 2. The prolific thief admitted to stealing 820 handbags totaling about 1.55 million yen and picking pockets for 166 million yen (move than half a million U.S. dollars) over the course of two years. When captured, he insisted he was the "Lupin of Saitama."

Ichinotake mostly targeted women on bicycles who placed their bags in the bicycle's front basket. He would then snatch the purse while riding by on a motorcycle.

Ichinotake isn't the first man to adopt Lupin as inspiration to commit crimes. A 52-year-old Fukuoka man made an endless stream of prank telephone calls to the Hakata Police Station claiming to be Lupin III. Sometimes you just take inspiration or admiration to far.​