A man arrested for allegedly stealing a pure gold tea bowl priced at around 10 million yen ($65,000) has told police he "thought of drinking tea" with the bowl, an investigative source said Sunday.
Masaru Horie, 32, who was arrested Saturday, said he first thought he could use the bowl stolen from a major Tokyo department store as a vessel to drink tea from but ultimately decided that "it was better to sell it for cash."
He sold the bowl for around 1.8 million yen at a shop in Tokyo that buys goods from customers, police said, adding that they are searching for the bowl as it is no longer at the shop and is believed to have been resold.
Police suspect Horie, who had around 1.3 million yen in his possession when apprehended, intended from the very beginning to sell the bowl for money.
Horie on Thursday allegedly took the bowl on display at a special exhibition and sale event at the Takashimaya department store's Nihombashi branch in central Tokyo, police said.
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Man arrested over theft of 10 million yen gold tea bowl from Tokyo store
10 million yen gold bowl stolen from Tokyo department store
