If you watch as many Netflix crime documentaries as I do, you'll know that there have been some pretty smart
in the past. I'm not endorsing or condoning them in any way, but some individuals just seem to have a talent for pulling off complex cons or elaborate fraud schemes, and it's almost impressive at times.
However, on the other end of the spectrum, you've got the sort of bumbling felons that end up ridiculing themselves in the process of trying to make a quick buck. Think Harry and Marv - otherwise known as the Wet Bandits - from
, or literally any bad guy from Scooby Doo.
Far from being works of fiction, though, these types of clueless criminals exist among us. And, boy, is it funny when they get caught.
Earlier this week, the police department in Copenhagen, Denmark, got an early Christmas present when a drug dealer accidentally handed himself over to them.
The man, who has not been named, was in a rush to get home, and jumped into what he believed to be a taxi. Unfortunately for him, the vehicle was a police car. Not only that - but it was occupied by officers who were in the Christiania area in order to enforce a crackdown on drug use.
Caught 0ff-guard, the officers decided to search the man, and found that he was in possession of approximately 1,000 cannabis joints.
The area has been under strict surveillance over the past few months, as drug dealing rates are at a dangerous high. It's not exactly surprising, then, that someone with that quantity of joints happened to be in close proximity to the cops. What
is
shocking, however, was his complete lack of thought as he jumped into the back of their car.
Understandably, the whole department was astounded - firstly, at the man's stupidity, and, secondly, at their amazing luck.
"Last night a cannabis dealer from Christiania who wanted to get home quickly got into a taxi. He received a big surprise when he realised it was actually a police car he was sitting in," the police wrote on the Copenhagen Twitter account.
"The police officers were happy to see him," they added,
"since he was carrying around 1,000 joints."
Police Chief Jesper Bangsgaar, a member of the Copenhagen department, said in a separate statement that the man couldn't really make any excuse, as he'd been caught red-handed. Or green-handed, I guess, depending on where exactly he'd been hiding the spliffs.
Like many areas of Europe, marijuana is illegal in Denmark. Now, as a result of his foolish mistake, the drug dealer faces up to eight years behind bars. His sentence may seem harsh, given that the drug is permitted in some other nations around the world, but perhaps he should have thought twice before practically gift-wrapping himself for the police officers.
If it's any consolation to him, he's not the only one to have been caught out in such an amazing way. Just this week, a police force in the UK caught nearly two dozen criminals after copying a sting operation used by Chief Wiggum in
.
