YOKOHAMA -- An unemployed man who sneaked into apartments to rob brand goods sniffed for perfume in the gaps of the doors to confirm that women lived there, police said.

Seiichi Shirota, 46, has already been indicted for robbery and faces fresh charges for similar offenses.

Kanagawa police suspect Shirota robbed some 200 homes in Kawasaki of brand goods worth 60 million yen in total.

The charge for which Shirota was reported to prosecutors on Tuesday involves two cases of robbery in two women's apartments in Kawasaki on Dec. 19 last year. He stole cash, watches and bags worth about 3.65 million yen.

Shirota often targeted women who worked at night. He confirmed the residents of the apartments were women by sniffing for perfume in the door gaps or by reading the nameplates on the posts.

He cashed the stolen goods at pawnshops, police said.