A man caught on camera attempting to walk out with a speaker shoved down his pants was billed on the internet as the "worst shoplifter ever."
The overly ambitious electronics bandit set his sights on a long soundbar inside an HBH Woolacotts electronics store in Cornwall – a ceremonial county in South West England – on Thursday afternoon.
But his not-so-smooth plundering tactic was a big fail.
Surveillance cameras caught him trying to conceal the equipment inside his trousers and under his shirt and jacket.
It was hard for store employees not to notice the boxy protrusion from under his shirt, and they caught him before lumbering towards the exit.
The workers took to social media and commented on the would-be thief's clumsy efforts caught on camera.
Footage taken of the CCTV monitor with a cellphone for the purpose of easily trimming and sending the video file was posted on HBH Woolacott's Facebook page, which read:
"Genuine CCTV footage from one of our stores this afternoon - safe to say that this gentleman didn't make it out of the shop with his freebie!"
They cheekily added:
"Do you think he was impressed with our package deals?!"
Amateur comedians ruthlessly mocked the guy on social media and also hoped the merchandise was properly sanitized before the "worn" item was returned to store shelves.
HBH Woolacotts/Facebook
HBH Woolacotts/Facebook
HBH Woolacotts/Facebook
HBH Woolacotts/Facebook
HBH Woolacotts/Facebook
HBH Woolacotts/Facebook
HBH Woolacotts/Facebook
HBH Woolacotts/Facebook
HBH Woolacotts/Facebook
HBH Woolacotts/Facebook
HBH Woolacotts/Facebook
Chris Hemmerle, co-director of HBH Wollacotts, said of the clumsy Klepto:
"He certainly wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer."
He continued telling Cornwall Live:
"The soundbar he was attempting to steal was probably the biggest one we've got. The area he was in was about halfway down the store and so they left him to it, waited until he walked towards the front door and then confronted him."
"They were able to retrieve the goods. I don't think he said much to them - he seemed to be under the influence of something, according to the store staff."
Hemmerle also said the portfolio holder the shoplifter knocked over during his unsuccessful attempt contained a pair of bolt cutters.
He added:
"Every one of our stores has security CCTV and it's important to have enough staff available so they can be alert to shoplifters and fall foul of distraction techniques - although this man was hardly a master thief."
Even though the shoplifter did not make it out of the store with the unpaid merchandise secured on his person, he definitely paid for it by being put on blast.
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