Photo/Illutration A pure gold tea bowl was found at an antique store in Tokyo’s Taito Ward after being stolen from a department store exhibition. (Provided by Metropolitan Police Department)

The pure gold bowl stolen from a Tokyo department store was resold for more than 4 million yen ($25,800), more than double the price the suspected thief got in the first sale, police said.

The quick sales of the luxury item have raised eyebrows among industry insiders.

According to police, an antique dealer in the capital’s Koto Ward bought the bowl for around 1.8 million yen from Masaru Horie on April 11, a couple of hours after it was stolen from the Takashimaya department store in Nihonbashi.

The dealer resold the bowl for over 4 million yen to another dealer in Taito Ward within the day.

The bowl was recovered from the second dealer on April 15.

Horie, 32, from Koto Ward, was arrested on April 13. He has admitted to the allegations, saying he was in debt.

Police believe that he stole the bowl, priced at 10.4 million yen at the department store, impulsively after learning the luxury item was displayed in a plastic case without lock or alarm.

A luxury item dealer from Koto Ward unrelated to the incident expressed surprise by the first sale.

“Not many dealers can pay nearly 2 million yen in cash like that,” the dealer said. “It’s risky to buy an item from a stranger and resell it right away.”

A buyer’s profit is typically 10 to 20 percent of the purchase price, according to the dealer.

“Most pure gold items come in a wooden box with the artist’s name on it,” the dealer explained. “Most dealers would be alarmed when such an item arrives without a box.”

Another dealer suggested that the first buyer paid 1.8 million yen for the gold bowl because dealers are required to submit a payment statement to the tax office if they buy gold for more than 2 million yen.

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