Top 10 Most Absurd Thieves in the World

Here's another case of a thief caught for a "ridiculous" reason. A 39-year-old man, Mr. Zhang, from Henan Province (China), was sentenced for a series of thefts and robberies. According to local news, he began his criminal career four years ago, committing one robbery and up to 287 different thefts.

The most absurd part of his crime spree occurred when he broke into a house to steal. Suddenly, he felt the urge to relieve himself and did so right next to the owner's bed before leaving—without taking anything.

In the end, he was caught when police used DNA from the feces he left behind to identify him as the culprit.

In August 1995, Klaus Schmidt stormed into a bank in Berlin with a handgun and demanded cash. However, things took an odd turn when a bank employee asked if the robber needed a bag to carry the money. Schmidt responded, "Damn it, of course it's a real gun!"

This small detail led witnesses to realize that the robber was deaf. Seizing the opportunity, an employee discreetly triggered the alarm. Despite the loud sound of the siren, Schmidt continued to calmly threaten the staff, unaware of the noise.

When the police arrived, they quickly apprehended Klaus Schmidt. Later, Schmidt sued the bank, claiming they had taken advantage of his disability.

In 2011, Derbyshire police in the UK used a creative strategy to catch criminals with a free beer offer. Undercover officers posing as salespeople spread the word that a group of escaped prisoners had won a crate of beer as a prize.

To claim their prize, the "winners" needed to contact the reward company. Eager for the free beer, 19 fugitives contacted the location to claim their prize. Unfortunately for them, there was no beer, just a team of police officers waiting to send them back to prison.

In 2008, 18-year-old Ruben Zarate attempted a robbery at an auto parts shop in Chicago. He entered the store with a gun, demanding that the staff hand over all the cash. However, the money was locked in a safe, and only the manager had the key.

In a moment of questionable judgment, Ruben "innocently" decided to leave his phone number with the staff, telling them to call him when the manager returned. Naturally, the store employees called the Chicago police.

The police quickly arrived at the scene and instructed the staff to call the robber back. Sure enough, Zarate returned to "collect the money". After a brief shootout, the 18-year-old thief was apprehended by the police.

Greg Liascos, 36, from Portland, USA, was arrested after attempting to break into the Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals in Oregon, disguised as a tree.

A gardener working at the museum accidentally discovered some broken tiles scattered across the garden. Following the trail, he found a large hole in the wall of the back restroom, leading to the elevator shaft inside the building.

The gardener immediately called the police. However, there were no signs of movement from the thief. Afterward, the police enlisted the help of K9 units, and that’s when Liascos had no choice but to reveal himself.

Though Liascos didn’t manage to steal anything from the museum, he is now facing charges as the “oddest thief” and is waiting for his day in court.

On March 18, 2011, a thief named Sipp Jani from the USA nearly met his end while attempting to break into a victim's kitchen through a vent pipe.

His bad luck didn’t stop there—he got stuck halfway through the pipe. To make matters worse, he almost fell into a boiling vat of oil below. The police managed to capture a photo of the thief in his unfortunate predicament.

On January 13, 2016, the Lima Police Department’s Facebook page shared news that Donald Pugh had been arrested at the Escambia County Sheriff's Office in Florida, thanking the public for their calls and media help. After seeing his mugshot on Facebook, Pugh didn’t like how he looked in the photo and complained that it was unflattering. He took matters into his own hands and sent the police a new, much better selfie of himself to replace the mugshot.

To humor the “social media enthusiast,” Lima police swapped the old mugshot for the one Pugh had submitted. This ridiculous move made it easier for the police to track him down!

You can't help but wonder what this thief was thinking when he decided to film his entire crime spree and post it online. Meet Andrew Kellet, a 23-year-old car enthusiast from Leeds, who recorded himself committing a series of traffic violations.

His arrogance led him to share around 80 videos of everything from fuel theft to illegal street racing. Leeds city councilor Les Carter quipped, "Kellet seems to be the dumbest criminal in Leeds." Unsurprisingly, he was quickly arrested. Police and locals must have had quite a laugh over this one!

In September 1981, two thieves from Edmonton, Canada, broke into a gas station in Vancouver. After stealing some goods, they fled the scene. However, during their escape, they got completely lost and ended up at another gas station to ask for directions. Ironically, it was the very same gas station they had just robbed, and these clueless criminals were quickly apprehended.