Contortionist hid in suitcase to steal from tourists' luggage on bus

Police have arrested a contortionist who hid in a suitcase to steal from tourists' luggage in a bus locker. The flexible thief stole valuables including laptop computers from the baggage compartment during an hour-long journey. He then clambered back inside his case, and was later collected at his destination by his partner in crime.

Holidaymakers only realised their things were missing when they arrived at their hotels and opened their bags. For weeks detectives were baffled as to how so many items were being regularly stolen on the bus route between Girona airport and Barcelona, in Catalonia, north east Spain. Last Friday they were alerted by a suspicious member of the public to a large suitcase of 90cm by 50cm that had just been loaded on the bus.


Photo from here.

When they opened it up the shocked officers found the 1.78m man curled up inside. The Catalan police force, the Mossos d'Esquadra, said yesterday in a statement: 'It was a very unusual modus operandi. One of the men bought a bus ticket from Girona airport to Barcelona, then put a large suitcase in the baggage hold with the other passengers' luggage. A second person had hidden inside the suitcase, and when the bus set off he got out of the suitcase and, using a torch, looked for valuable objects in the rest of the bags, which he then hid inside a smaller bag.

'After stealing those goods he hid back in the large suitcase for the rest of the journey. Last Friday the officers went to inspect a suspect suitcase and they found a man hidden inside, in the style of a contortionist.' Police said they had arrested the contortionist and his partner, and named them as Krzysztof Grzegorz, 29, and Jouoastaw K, 31.