Mobster nabbed over Peko-chan statue theft

WAKAYAMA (Kyodo) Police said Wednesday they have arrested a mobster for allegedly stealing a Peko-chan statue from a Fujiya Co. confectionary in February in the city of Wakayama.

Exhibit A: Stolen Peko-chan figures confiscated from secondhand shops are displayed Wednesday at a police station in Wakayama Prefecture. KYODO PHOTO

Arrested Tuesday in Osaka Prefecture, Hiroshi Inaba, 42, has claimed the actual theft of the famed Fujiya mascot was committed by an accomplice, Wakayama police said, noting collectors have paid ¥150,000 to ¥200,000 for the figures.

Police plan to arrest Inaba's 37-year-old male acquaintance on suspicion of conspiracy in connection with the case.

Since January, at least 10 Peko-chan figures have been reported stolen in Wakayama Prefecture, and 10 of the figures later were sold at two secondhand shops in Osaka. Police are investigating if the figure believed stolen by Inaba was among them.

Inaba is believed to have swiped the statue from the Wakayama shop at around 3 p.m. on Feb. 12. The figure stood 1 meter tall, weighed 10 kg and cost about ¥40,000 to make.

"The main Fujiya store had instructed us to put the figure inside the shop after a series of Peko-chan thefts had been reported in the Kinki region since early February," said the 47-year-old woman who manages the Wakayama store.

"This is the third time our doll has been stolen and we are worried that we won't get it back," she said.

Fujiya debuted its first Peko-chan outside its store in Tokyo's Ginza district in 1950.