‘Fishy’ Australian thief steals Versace necklace and Twitter’s attention

The thief, captured on CCTV, broke the store window in Melbourne’s central business district before using a fishing rod to hook the Versace necklace.

A thief has been caught on camera hooking a gold necklace with a fishing rod in a brazen nighttime theft from an Australian designer store.

Police released the footage as they attempt to net the balding, middle-aged thief. (Victoria Police/official Twitter)

The thief, captured on CCTV, broke the store window in Melbourne’s central business district before using a fishing rod to hook the Versace necklace, local police said Wednesday.

But it took the inner-city angler nearly three hours to land his catch.

After first attempts with a smaller rod failed, the man decided to get a bigger rod, eventually snagging the gold $700 piece from a mannequin’s neck in a crime police described as -- until now -- unseen.

“It’s fairly blatant and it’s quite bold as well, to have someone attend with a fishing rod in the middle of the night,” Victoria Police Senior Constable Bede Whitty said.

Police released the footage as they attempt to net the balding, middle-aged thief.

Here it is:

Twitter users had amusing responses to the video. One user replied to the police’s official Tweet stating, “If he’s got a fishing license this is 100% legit angling”. Other users also followed the fishing theme with one saying, “Something fishy going on there”.

While one account claimed that the culprit looked identical to Bill Murray; others spoke about his fashion sense. One Twitter user was eager to find out where the man got his shoes from. They tweeted, “Is there footage of him stealing those dope blue sneakers to match his top?”

What are your thoughts on this? Does this man’s technique remind you more of Hrithik Roshan from Dhoom 3 or Shahrukh Khan from Happy New Year?