New York Times: Wanted: the shirtless reptile-hurlers of Humpty Doo.
It sounds like a crazy caper in a children’s book. But the police in Australia are serious.
Investigators in the Northern Territory announced on Sunday that they needed the public’s help in identifying four half-naked men who had broken into a school office in the town of Humpty Doo, shattering a window and heaving a few saltwater crocodiles inside.
Presumably, investigators also want the answer to that age-old question of crime-solving: Why did you do it?
The police released a security camera video of the break-in, which occurred around 5 a.m. on Sunday. The video shows the interior of an unremarkable office: desk, file cabinets, computer. Then the panes of a glass door tremble and crack, and in comes a crocodile, toppling headfirst into the room. The scaly beast is followed by another, and then a third crocodile flops headfirst through the broken glass.
The reptilian advance team is followed by human counterparts. A man is seen reaching through the broken glass to open the locked door. He darts in, shirtless but with his face covered, and three more men follow. At first they appear to be searching for something, yanking open drawers and tossing aside papers and equipment.
Finally, the video shows them grabbing a computer and making their escape, leaving the crocodiles behind to face the music. The reptiles are barely visible on the floor, shuffling around the furniture.
