THINGS YOU WON’T BELIEVE WERE ACTUALLY STOLEN

For some people stealing is an act, a craft that you have to practice while for some is it an occupation, something they do because to them that is the only means of survival. Whatever the case might be, theft is something that we have all had to get used to in our lives, even though not everybody steals or get rob. 

There are some people who have decided to dedicate much of their time to taking things that don’t belong to them by stealing items such as televisions, generator, cars, money and other valuable items such as jewelry.

It is somehow good to know that some thieves have bigger plan than that, to them their ambition is larger than that, they commit much time and planning before they carry out their crime. Below are some lists of the bizarre and strange things you won’t believe were actually stolen.

1.     Boeing 727-223

In 2003, a Boeing 727-223 plane was stolen from the Quatro de Fevereiro Airport in Luanda, the capital city of Angola. Yes people you read it right, a plane was actually stolen. I mean who would think of stealing a plane? Well not your regular neighbour thieves you would say, an American pilot and Republic of Congo mechanic are the two main suspects in this robbery. On 25^th of May they boarded the plane, taxied it to the runway and took off without communicating with air traffic control. It was said that the plane had been sitting idle for 14 months at the airport before the robbery took place neither the plane nor any of the two suspects have ever been seen since.

2.     A Tank

This I call stupid robbery or probably a terrorist desperately in need of ammunition because I can’t comprehend what this guy was thinking when he decided to steal a Patton Tank. On the 17^th of May 1995, Shawn Nelson drove into a National Guard Armory in California, entered the facility through an unlocked gate and stole a M60A3 Patton tank. He then went on a rampage through the streets of San Diego while being chased by police cars but that wasn’t going to stop a tank, so they requested for a cobra helicopter. However, they were able to stop Nelson when the tank became trapped on a concrete wall. Indeed I call that stupidity.

3.     Fighter Jet Engines

For me this would have taken months of planning, from the name of what was stolen you would say this wasn’t a one day thought. In 2010 in Israel a number of F-16 fighter jet engines were stolen, despite the fact that they were being stored at an active military base. What made the robbery more shocking was the fact that each engine that was stolen weighed 3,700 pounds, meaning that anyone stealing these engines would need lifting equipments and large vehicles for transportation. Now you would agree with me that this was one hell of a robbery and the thieves must be giving some credit, I meaning pull that off without been noticed and been caught.

4.     A Steel Bridge

Sometimes you find it very ridiculous what people would want to steal, a bridge, come on what on earth would make someone steal a bridge. In 2012 in a town called Slavkov in Czech Republic an entire Steel bridge was stolen, pretending as railway officials, a group of men with forged documents claimed that they had orders to take down the bridge so they could construct another one. With that they were able to dismantle the 10-tonnes of steel and carried it away in their trucks before the railway network realized they had been tricked. The Police believed the thieves were planning to sell the steel as scrap as it was a lucrative business that has been causing extensive problems for railways in the area.

5.     Oil Tanker

I was very shock when this news broke out that some oil tankers were stolen on Nigerian shores, how many of you can still remember that news? Well it is true, those oil tankers were actually stolen, can’t say for sure how many were stolen but only one of it was found. Some say the suspect were pirate while others believe they were terrorists, whoever they were they were able to steal several only vessel under the watch of the Nigerian Navy and then held the vessels for ransom with the hope of being paid to release them safely with those on board.

6.     Mona Lisa

The Mona Lisa is arguably the most famous painting in the world and it only became so when it was stolen in 1911. The painting had been on display for over hundred years but didn’t get much popularity and fame until it was stolen from the Louvre. The method Vincenzo Peruggia used was very simple and easy, all he had to do was to hide in a closet until the museum had closed and then walk out with the painting hidden under a coat. Two years later he was caught when he tried to sell the painting to an Italian art gallery.

7.     Empire State Building

You might say it would be difficult to steal a building since you can’t move or carry it to a new location. Let even now assume you could move it, a building as big as the Empire State Building would be very much impossible to hide, don’t you all agree?  But here is the shocker, this building was stolen. Am such what you would want to know is how it was stolen, well it was stolen when the New York Daily News wanted to publicize an exploitable loophole to city officials and the public, using some clearly fake documents with names of actors and actresses, they applied to have the deed to the building transferred to them. It took 90 minutes before the paperwork could go through and the building was only stolen for a day as it was given back to the rightful owners the next day.