Brazen Asda conman walked out of store with £40k and was never found

Yahoo

2 days ago

A brazen conman who walked out of Asda with a £40,000 stash remains at large a decade later.
The mystery man, who was wearing a smart suit, strutted into the store and posed as a senior member of staff.
He smoothly slid behind the counter of the Bureau de Change at the Trafford Park store in Manchester and began serving customers.
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Store staff also spoke with the 'colleague' as he handed out cash and traveller's cheques.
After biding his time, the crook used a crucial piece of inside information to strike - the safe code - before calmly walking off with tens of thousands of pounds.
The crime took place on July 29, 2015 - but was not public knowledge until the Manchester Evening News broke the story a few weeks later on August 5, having received a tip-off.
Astonishing CCTV footage - which can be viewed below - was released by police, with the scenes later compared to those from the Hollywood blockbuster 'Catch Me If You Can', starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
The minute-long clip shows the man walk into the kiosk clutching a plastic bag and a tablet device, plus a set of white earphones.
He then chats to a customer who approaches for help, and later plays with a mobile phone he holds under the Bureau de Change kiosk before fiddling around with drawers under the counter.
A source previously told the MEN: "As the woman in the Bureau de Change was leaving he slipped into the kiosk.
"He started to serve customers, just giving them wedges of cash, as he clearly had no idea about exchange rates.
"He apparently wore a glove, knew the code for the safe, punched it in, and was able to empty it.
"At one point a senior member of the Asda staff walked passed while he was in the kiosk and even spoke to him but he just kept up the pretence - as cool as you like.
"Some of the customers got an early Christmas bonus too - getting much more than they should have done.
"Apparently the code to the bureau safe had not been changed for ages.
"He must have been in a few times and done his homework."
At the time, a £2,000 reward was offered to anyone who could provide information leading to the arrest and conviction of the conman, who was described as Asian, in his mid 20s or early 30s and slim.
The Mirror reports that he had a suspiciously full head of hair, and was later suspected to be wearing a wig and fake beard.
The man had never worked in the store, according to Greater Manchester Police.
This week, the force told local media there had not been any arrests, and all intelligence on the case had dried up in 2015