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The mafia YouTube star -

In March 2021, an Italian fugitive was apprehended by Interpol. Marc Feren Claude Biart is alleged to be a member of the notorious Ndrangheta crime syndicate.

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The mafia YouTube star -

The Ndrangheta mafia have become the most powerful criminal organization in Europe, controling the majority of cocaine traffic that enters the continent. Biart was on the run from Italian police since 2014 for charges of cocaine trafficking.

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The mafia YouTube star -

He was hiding out and living a quiet life in the Dominican Republic, uploading cooking videos to his YouTube channel (really). He was careful always to hide his face, but he failed to disguise his distinctive tattoos, which led to his identification and arrest.

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Afghanistan's dumbest criminal -

In 2012, an Afghan terrorist tried to claim the award for his own arrest. Mohammad Ashan was a low-level commander of the Afghan Taliban, active in the east of the country.

Ashan was wanted on suspicion of planning attacks against American and Afghan troops. However, he wasn’t exactly the big cheese, so the reward for his capture was only US$100.

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Afghanistan's dumbest criminal -

Ashan walked up to a police checkpoint and pointed at the wanted poster with a picture of his own face. He asked for the US$100 reward, believing he could claim it for turning himself in. An American official reportedly told journalists, “Clearly, this man is an imbecile."

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Criminal customer -

In 2014, 27-year-old Dean Smith went into his local bank in his small Welsh village to update the address associated with his account. While running this errand, he apparently spotted cash in the tills, and started to hatch a plan.

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Criminal customer -

Welsh returned to the bank half an hour later, having “disguised” himself by putting on a pair of sunglasses, and, for some reason, putting his socks on over his shoes. He attempted to hold up the cashier, but she refused to hand over any money. He fled the scene empty handed.

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Criminal customer -

Having clearly been recognized, the police had no trouble tracking him down shortly afterwards. Welsh later admitted that he had been “very stupid.”

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The claustrophobic car thief -

A car thief in Johannesburg, South Africa fell victim to the auto-lock system during a would-be robbery. He used a jamming device to break into a parked car in broad daylight, but once he got into the car and closed the door, the auto-lock system trapped him.

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The claustrophobic car thief -

The thief began to panic and started banging on the windows to call for help. Passersby had witnessed the incident and were highly amused to see karma in action. Within 15 minutes the car was surrounded by pedestrians and the police showed up shortly after.

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The claustrophobic car thief -

The man was trapped inside the car for an hour and a half until the police could get in touch with the owner to come and open the doors. She was shocked to discover the scene when she returned to her vehicle. The police promptly arrested the man as soon as she unlocked the doors.

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The flatulent fugitive -

In 2019, newspapers across the US were delighted by a ridiculous story shared by Missouri police. Officers were searching for a suspect wanted for possession of a controlled substance.

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The flatulent fugitive - The suspect was hiding from police when he farted so loudly that it gave away his position, leading to his arrest. The police department were quick to troll the detainee on Twitter, sharing his embarrassment with the world!

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An ill-fated B&E -

Police in New York were called to a mini-market where they found 23-year-old Blake Leak attempting to break in. Leak ran for it when the cops arrived, and they began to pursue him on foot.

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An ill-fated B&E -

He managed to get ahead of the police officers and desperately searched for somewhere to hide. Leak found himself beside a building with large grounds and decided it was the perfect place. He didn’t realize he was breaking into the famous Sing Sing maximum-security prison. He was immediately arrested by a guard.

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Falling flat - An Ohio criminal entered a local bank with the intention of conducting a robbery. He approached the cashier, but didn’t get very far with his plan. He fainted before he could steal anything.

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Falling flat -

The cashier was concerned for the would-be robber and called for an ambulance. Apparently he wasn’t ready to give up. While they were waiting for the paramedics to arrive, the indisposed criminal handed her a note telling her to give him all the money.

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Falling flat -

Needless to say, she didn’t feel threatened at this point and did not comply with his request.

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The M&M thief -

In 2010, the newsroom of Montana-based newspaper Ravelli Republic was broken into by a local criminal. It was out-of-office hours, so the intruder, later identified as Stephen Crane, had the run of the place.

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The M&M thief -

It’s reported that he used the office computers to visit adult websites and check his Facebook page. He then vandalized the office by spraying the room with a fire extinguisher. He grabbed some candy and got out of there.

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The M&M thief - Police were easily able to apprehend Crane by following the trail of M&Ms that led them from the scene of the crime to his sister's apartment nearby.

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Counterfeit customer -

In 2013, a man named Jarad S. Carr walked into his local Walmart with the intention of returning a printer he had purchased there. He encountered a few problems, as he didn’t have a receipt, and the printer was missing the paper tray and installation CD. Employees also found that it contained a sheet of fake US$100 bills he had been trying to print.

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Counterfeit customer -

Despite having been caught trying to print counterfeit bills, Carr continued to insist on receiving a refund. The situation escalated when Carr refused to leave the store, and employees called the police to have him removed.

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Counterfeit customer -

When the police arrived, Carr was still refusing to leave the Walmart and attempting to barter a refund. They arrested him and found several counterfeit bills on his person. He was charged with attempted theft by fraud, forgery, and resisting arrest. It turned out he was also wanted on two felony warrants for armed robbery and burglary. He probably should have just accepted a store credit...

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The vain fugitive -

In 2016, a man named Donald "Chip" Pugh was suspected of arson and vandalism and had gone on the run from Ohio police. A warrant for his arrest had been published, but Pugh wasn’t happy with the photo they chose.

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The vain fugitive -

Pugh decided to provide them with a more flattering image. He took a selfie and texted it to the Ohio police, saying “Here is a better photo that one is terrible.” In a radio interview, he later explained that the police had made him look like James Brown on the run, and he just wasn’t having it.

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The vain fugitive -

The police thanked Pugh for his assistance and later apprehended him in Florida.

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The unfortunate troll -

A German bank robber was on the run from police and decided to troll them for failing to capture him. He sent them emails mocking them for getting his height, age, and accent wrong in their description. He even informed them that he had escaped by car, and not on foot as they had claimed in the media.

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The unfortunate troll -

In the end, the police had the last laugh. They were able to trace his email address and arrested him within a few hours.

Sources: (Reader's Digest) (BBC) (NBC)

See also: The world's most sinister crime scenes

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