Monday, December 23, 2013

Loopy Loot! The Most Bizarre Things Ever Stolen. Guest post

Those who commit to a life of crime are never the brightest buttons in the box but some of them - particularly thieves - you just have to laugh at. From movie props to breast pumps, criminals that way inclined will steal anything that isn’t tied down. To prove the point, we have collated the most bizarre items to ever be tossed into loot bags – and no, none of these are a joke!

 1.    BREAST PUMPS
When Floridians John Grassano and Sean Loychik felt compelled to undergo a heist at their local Babies “R” Us store, they were clearly thinking about their futures as fathers. Breast pumps, used by mums for extracting breast milk to feed new-borns, were top of their theft agenda. Over the course of a month, the pair stole a number of breast pumps with the total market value of $15,000. All we can say is that they must have had a pregnant girlfriend - or six.
 2.    GOLD TEETH
Denver embalmer Adrian Kline was arrested after he was caught extracting gold teeth from the corpses of the deceased. Kline attempted to mitigate his case by telling authorities that he only extracted the teeth by sifting them out of the cremated person’s ashes, a claim that was rejected in the investigation. The mortuary in which Kline was employed often gave the profits from dental metals to the funding of volunteers, as a gold crown in good condition can bring up to $700 of financial gain.  Police reports in the case discuss a situation in which Kline attempted to pawn 20 gold teeth in a pawnshop, after visiting a number of other stores over three years. He was charged on several counts of fraud, and eventually turned himself in.
 3.    20-FOOT INFLATABLE CHICKEN
American fast food chain El Pollo Loco launched their debut franchise in Sherman Oaks, California, by installing a 20-foot inflatable rubber chicken outside the restaurant. Of course an advert of this size would attract the attention of many patrons and, in particular, thieves who stole the chicken just two weeks after it was instated. Director of Operations for the company Joe Masiello was baffled by the disappearance, and insisted that if the thieves were to inflate the prop in their yard, someone would surely notice it. The company offered a tasty reward of 12 free chicken combos to the person or people who returned the chicken, but sadly it was never recovered.
 4.    A BRIDGE
If you thought that the 20-foot chicken was a large item to steal, then you’ll be shocked to hear that thieves from Khabarovsk, Russia, took theft to a whole new scale – literally. So what was their loot? A 38-foot long steel bridge designed for automotive traffic, that’s what. The intricate bridge was dismantled and removed in just one night, much to the surprise of commuters the next day. The authorities believe that the thieves involved in this crime likely sold on parts of their loot for profit in the scrap metal industry. In the same year, two other bridges in the area were also completely removed, suggesting that the perpetrators are serial bridge thieves.
 5.    A LIFE-SIZE MODEL OF E.T.
Grandmother Margaret Wells, 76, was left distressed after her beloved life-size model of film alien E.T. was stolen from her home in Cosham, Portsmouth, UK. Ms Wells’ daughter Louise created the model, believed to be worth £2,000, over three months of a stage make-up course. The iconic movie alien featured in the 1982 Steven Spielberg movie of the same name, and is now one of the most loved characters in the movie industry. The good news in this case is that the model was recovered a year later, after the Coastguard received a distress call regarding a body was floating out at sea near Old Portsmouth. Upon arrival, the authorities believed that it was an alien from another planet, but later realised it was Ms Well’s prized movie prop!
 6.    11,000 POUNDS OF NUTELLA SPREAD
Thieves in Germany performed one of the largest food heists in history in April this year, by stealing a truckload of Nutella chocolate hazelnut spread. The goods were taken from a delivery truck in Niederaula, Germany, which was parked at a former train station in the area. Around $20,000 worth of Nutella was stolen in the theft, and police believe that the culprits successfully made off with the spread by transferring the cargo from one truck to another. Who wouldn’t steal a truckload of sickly sweet Nutella, though?
Seemingly anything goes in the theft world, even if it is large scale or just very, very weird. So make sure that your teeth are secure and that your Nutella is locked away, or you may fall victim to an unremorseful and bizarre theft! 
Rob is a security writer from http://advancesecurityscreening.co.uk/. He has worked in the security industry for many years and enjoys writing tips for home owners as well as looking at humourous security stories.

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