Three women who used a 3-year-old boy to steal DVDs have been arrested on suspicion of theft, and the toddler taken into protective custody, police said.

Arrested were Fumiko Nagano, 55, and her 29-year-old daughters, Sachiko and Mikiko Ibayashi. The boy used to steal the DVDs was Mikiko Ibayashi’s son, police said.

“People wouldn’t get suspicious if we used a child, and he was handy because he could crawl into small spaces,” police quoted one of the women as saying.

Police suspect the three used the tactic to commit at least similar 20 thefts, and are continuing to question them.

Investigators said the women used the boy to steal three DVDs with a combined value of about 9,200 yen from behind the counter of a video store near their home in Toyama Prefecture at about 9:40 p.m. on March 18.

The three reportedly kept watch over the boy, and when he brought them the stolen goods, they put them in a bag and walked out with them. They reportedly sold the DVDs later.

Police said the women were caught out after stores in the area reported that products had gone missing after a boy came in, and security camera images were used to trace the culprits.

The 3-year-old was taken into protective custody by a child consultation center after the incident.

(每日新闻)