Rodent Robberies

 Money disappearing from under the noses of its guardians ....

Animals Get The Blame ...

... is sadly not a particularly newsworthy thing, but when its absence blamed on animals, well that's a different matter.

So, for instance when a drug haul deposited in a secure police warehouse goes missing, its small news, but when its blamed on mice, well its BIG news. In May 2018, over half a ton of cannabis was found to have gone missing from the police warehouse in Pilar, Argentina, The warehouse had been holding 6,000kg when last audited, but a fresh audit found only 5,460kg to still be there, and naturally the first finger of suspicion was pointed at its supposed guardians, the local police.

Mice Blamed For Cannabis Theft ..... Evidence?

However the eight policemen in charge claimed that the missing amount was eaten or otherwise consumed by the local mice. But when forensic scientists examined the scene they found no evidence to support this claim, in particular no mice droppings (which anyone who has had mice activity will confirm is a very obvious sign that they are about). The eight policemen where all fired.

ATM Mouse Nests ... A Clue?

But this is not always the outcome of rodent robberies: Also in 2018, when ATM machines stopped paying out cash at a bank, staff at the State Bank of India  in Tinsukia, which is located in north-eastern India’s Assam state, called technicians. 

However when the technician opened up the ATM they  discovered that rodents had chewed through 1.2 million INR, which was half of the cash inside. Sadly the mouse had not been sustained by this wealth, and was also found dead inside the ATM. Oddly the bank complained to the police (as though it was a theft), but no one (least of all the police) could work out what the bank expected the police to do. 

A similar event happened after a pair of mice broke into an ATM in the Kazakh capital Astana, apparently fleeing from a snow storm. Bank workers were surprised the next day when they discovered that the mice had eaten the bank notes. They also didn't call the police. 

And finally way back in 2007, Hansapank Bank in Tallinn, Estonia experienced a similar event when a mouse made its nest in the cash machine, and spent the weekend eating tens of thousands of kroons in bank notes. The little thief was caught after a customer making a withdrawal got only half-eaten bank notes from the machine. 

The bank spokesperson said "At some stage over the weekend the chewed money jammed, and the mouse seems to have spent the rest of the weekend turning the notes into bedding. It probably was attracted by the warmth from the machine and decided to make itself at home." .... they also didn't call the police, but did call in a bank technician to work how the mouse got in to the machine.