Thieves make off with $300,000 from armoured vehicle after distracting driver
Police said the broad daylight theft was a 'crime of opportunity'
Thieves were able to make off with $300,000 from an armoured vehicle after distracting the driver.
The Brink's truck was making a money drop in Brooklyn, New York City, at around 1pm on Friday (6 January) when two men asked the driver for directions.
A third man then stole a bag from the vehicle containing the cash, and all three fled the scene.
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"While the employee was distracted another unknown individual quickly removed a bag that was left unattended on the bumper of the armoured Brink's truck and fled the scene on foot," New York Police Department (NYPD) said.
Police have shared CCTV images of the thieves and are appealing for information.
"They just distracted him while talking to him," an NYPD spokesperson told the New York Post, adding there was no indication that the theft was an inside job.
"It was a crime of opportunity. Someone saw an opportunity."
Security company Brink's said in a statement: "We can confirm there was an incident involving a Brink’s crew in Brooklyn on Friday and we are working with law enforcement.
"At this time, we don't have any further information to share."
Meanwhile, down in Texas, police recently appealed for help identifying a man who stole the baby Jesus Christ from a nativity scene.
Fort Worth Police Department shared footage of the man, who could be seen casually walking up to the nativity, nabbing the holy infant and walking off a week before Christmas 2022.
The theft happened at around 2:00am, with the surveillance footage showing the man walking off clutching the doll before getting into a waiting car, prompting cops to believe he had an accomplice.
Sharing the footage online, FWPD wrote: "Not a very WISE MAN to steal from the nativity scene in Sundance Square.
"On 12/17 around 2am, this suspect stole baby Jesus and was seen jumping in a tan or silver Chevy Tahoe, so he probably wasn't alone in this."
As you can imagine, the unusual theft attracted plenty of attention online, with lots of people rushing in to make jokes.
Replying to the FWPD post one person said: “He heard king Herod the great was searching for baby Jesus so he did the noble thing.”
While another joked: “The good news is, that’s probably not the REAL baby jesus and can be replaced with virtually any toy doll sold at Walmart and literally NO ONE WOULD KNOW.”
The suspect was subsequently identified and Jesus was returned to his mum, Mary.
Jake Massey