Businessweek A Year in Weird Robberies
From swiping 17.5 tons of olives to nabbing 60 containers of bull sperm, the world’s thieves have been busy.
Since we went to press with our last Heist Issue, people have stolen (or been accused of stealing or attempting to steal) an impressive range of items. While many kept to the tried and true, others saw value in specialization. Why jack a boring old bank when you could be the Pirate Kings of Dimes? Why be another Fabergé egg-robbing hack when you could be the world’s top Creme Egg bandit? And anyone can lift a wallet, but it takes a gifted criminal imagination (and some heavy-duty equipment) to nab your very own sperm whale skull.
Truckful of cooking oil
Kingston, Jamaica
Allegedly taken by a construction worker and a policeman
$50,000+ in Botox and other cosmetic drugs
Busselton, Australia
The thief was captured on CCTV footage; she later pleaded guilty
Santa Claus statue
Greenville, South Carolina
Taken from a restaurant display that showed Santa cooking the Grinch; the thief returned the statue, along with roses and an apology
11,000+ cases of chicken wings worth $1.5 million
Harvey school district, Illinois
Allegedly ordered by an administrator during the pandemic using district money, then resold; the schools don’t actually serve wings
4-meter-long sperm whale skull
Eden, Australia
Taken from the Eden Killer Whale Museum; perps at very large
$42,500 in calculators
Bronx, New York
Teen crew allegedly conducted at least nine break-ins at six schools; one 18-year-old has been arrested
Truckful of Simba potato chips worth 1.2 million rand
Ekurhuleni, South Africa
One man was caught in the act; he described two accomplices who are missing and presumed salty
R2-D2 statue worth up to $10,000
Walt Disney World, Orlando
The man caught removing the droid claimed to be a security-guard job applicant
1,240 cases of crab worth $732,000
Stanwood, Washington
The alleged thief, who pleaded not guilty, previously went to prison for impersonating a cruise-line buyer to steal shrimp
“Gary” the 8-foot gorilla statue worth £3,000
Carluke, Scotland
Stolen from a garden center; later 8-foot gorilla statue sightings were determined not to have been Gary
132 bottles of wine worth €150,000+
Madrid
Thieves targeted the finest vintages from the 25,000-bottle cellar of a two-Michelin-starred restaurant, including a 1925 vintage
$1 million in signed Kobe Bryant shoes, Pokémon cards, other memorabilia
Los Angeles
Three men in white hoodies crashed a truck into a store and got away in less than seven minutes
$37,355+ in cadaver parts given to Harvard Medical School
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Seven people were charged in association with alleged thefts from 2018 to 2022; five, including a morgue manager and the Salem-based owner of Kat’s Creepy Creations, have pleaded not guilty
Trucksful of frozen beef and pork worth $9 million
6 Midwestern US states
Three men pleaded guilty to operating a meat-theft ring encompassing at least 45 robberies
C$250,000 in toothpaste
Guelph, Ontario
Perps at large, presumed smiling
17.5 tons of olives
Las Vegas, Spain
16 arrested for thefts from six farms
1.5 3 boxes of Pokémon cards worth $500,000,000 $500,000
Spartanburg, South Carolina
The initial police report erroneously cataloged the cards taken from a collector
Truckful of Covid-19 test kits
Fennor, Ireland
The truck was found; the test kits and perps were not
Oscar Mayer Wienermobile catalytic converter
Las Vegas
A garage patched the hole, and the Wienermobile continued on to its scheduled event
1 million+ baht in durian
Trat province, Thailand
Afterward, police began offering an overnight plantation-guarding service
10-ton Ramses II statue (attempted)
Aswan, Egypt
Three men were caught with digging equipment and a crane
2,000,000 dimes
Philadelphia
Taken from a truck originating at a US Mint facility; 10 or more men presumed responsible, annoying at checkouts
Trashbagful of beef jerky worth at least $2,000
Española, New Mexico
A subsequent break-in forced the store to throw away three bins’ worth of jerky
Around 200,000 Cadbury Creme Eggs and other sweets worth £54,000+
Telford, UK
One sticky-fingered man pleaded guilty
57 watermelons
Merced County, California
Two men were arrested, and the melons were returned
60 containers of bull sperm
Olfen, Germany
Perps missing, presumed scientifically literate; police noted that bull sperm must be preserved using liquid nitrogen at -196C (-321F)
20 briskets worth $3,000
Austin
The restaurant’s owner and manager were later indicted on unrelated workers’-compensation fraud charges, which they denied; the owner passed away this June
Funeral home van, corpse included
Chicago
One man was arrested for allegedly taking the van with the body of a 47-year-old father of 12 inside