Monkey pickpockets trained to target tourists: 'Fagin' of the animal kingdom steal from humans, 'rob' banks, attack tourists for their phones and even KILL their owners

'Fagin' crooks train monkeys to steal while wild primates 'rob' banks, attack tourists and even kill their owners.

Cops in Thailand have been forced to arm themselves with slingshots to fight off rampaging monkeys - but it is by no means the first time police officers have engaged in war against criminal primates.

In India crooks have been known to train monkeys to attack victims for cash and belongings.

While out-of-control crazed monkeys turned on their owners, going as far as killing them and others in a series of savage of attacks in recent years across Asia.

It was revealed this week that rampaging monkeys are terrorising a Thai tourist town, causing cops to arm themselves with slingshots and tranquiliser guns to combat the 'dangerous' primates .

The mischievous primates have been spotted attacking and purposefully intimidating travellers in order to steal their valuable items including phones and wallets (stock image)

Officers said they have come under attack from aggressive macaques in the town of Lopburi, around 90 miles north of the capital Bangkok, which has become notorious for its out-of-control monkey population.

The local police station has now issued wooden catapults that officers can use to fire at the unruly primates, which often climb over cars and steal food from shops and tourists as well as vandalise property.

And the move comes as Police Major General Apirak Wechkanchana, commander of Lopburi Provincial Police, ordered to establish a special unit to combat aggressive wild monkeys. 

Here, MailOnline looks at the rise of monkey madness in different parts of the world, including the worst acts the simians have carried out. 

Trained by 'Fagin' crooks to rob 

In 2021, two robbers who allegedly trained monkeys to intimidate victims into handing over cash were arrested in India.

The men taught the primates, who are known to attack people for items, to scare members of the public in New Delhi into handing over their valuable possessions.

One alleged victim, a lawyer, claimed three men jumped inside a rickshaw he was travelling in and invited two monkeys to sit on the front and back seat before demanding he hand over 6,000 rupees (close to £60).

There's a new group of crooks that tourists might not suspect they'd have to be wary around - monkeys (stock image)

The local police station has now issued wooden catapults that officers can use to fire at the unruly primates, which often climb over cars and steal food from shops and tourists

Motorbikes and cars drive past macaques in Lopburi, Thailand on February 25, 2024. Although the thousands of macaques living in town are a tourists' attraction, many complain that they harass residents and damage houses and businesses while deterring potential visitors

A spokesperson for the police in New Dehli said: 'They took the money the lawyer had in his wallet and fled with the monkeys.' 

Police suspected the gang were behind other similar thefts and officers set up a dedicated team to track down the culprits, who were arrested Thursday at a bus stop along with their animal accomplices. 

The pair's gang of monkeys were sent to an animal rescue following an investigation into the 'strange case involving monkeys' was launched. 

Similarly, monkeys living at Uluwatu Temple in Indonesia make the most of the crowds of travellers by deliberately stealing items and using them as bargaining chips to get food.

The unprecedented behaviour was observed by researchers from the University of Lethbridge in Canada.

They also noticed older and more experienced primates target high-value items, such as phones, and demand even more food for their loot.

Researchers observed video recordings of the monkeys as visitors approached them at the Hindu holy site between 2015 and 2016. 

It showed the monkeys would grab an item from a person and wait for a human to offer them food in order to get it back.

In 2021, two robbers who allegedly trained monkeys to intimidate victims into handing over cash were arrested in India

Similarly, monkeys living at Uluwatu Temple in Indonesia make the most of the crowds of travellers by deliberately stealing items and using them as bargaining chips to get food (stock image)

The monkey would only give the item back after receiving offerings it considered to be sufficient and a fair exchange.

Older monkeys, the researchers say, learned what items were of the highest value to people and deliberately aimed to obtain them.

'Robbing 'banks 

But it's not just petty theft - the creatures have also been involved in some high-stakes operations.

In 2020, police in India's capital rushed to the scene of a suspected bank robbery near the country's presidential palace.

Officers in New Delhi were called to a State Bank of India ATM that is a ten-minute walk from the palace after the front of the machine was pulled off.

Suspecting an attempted robbery, the cops reviewed CCTV footage - only to discover that the culprit was actually a curious primate.

CCTV revealed how the primate scaled the machine and then pulled the front covering away from the wall, before investigating its inner workings

A video shows the monkey - believed to be a Rhesus Macaque, which are native to the city - climbing up the front of the machine and tugging at the top of it. 

It is not clear how the monkey managed to get to the ATM - which is behind a glass door with a handle - or how it escaped again afterwards. 

There are thought to be between 4,000 and 5,000 Rhesus Macaques living in New Delhi, where they have a reputation for causing chaos.

The monkeys are frequently spotted stealing food, snapping power lines, and have even been involved in attacks on passersby.

Kidnapping other animals and children

Adorable puppies and kittens have also fallen victim, being kidnapped and held hostage by monkeys.

A two-week-old black and white puppy, named Saru, was grabbed by a primate and taken to the top of an electricity post in Taman Lestari Putra, Malaysia, back in 2021.

Video filmed by one of the rescuers shows concerned residents surveying the monkey clutching the puppy as it perched in a tree, and trying to work out how to save the tiny dog. 

The two-week-old black and white puppy, now named Saru, was grabbed by the primate and taken to the top of an electricity post in Taman Lestari Putra, Malaysia in 2021

 Footage shows the monkey on a roof holding the terrified kitten in its arms before it eats a series of bananas as shocked onlookers look on in horror

After three days, the pup was rescued after helpful passers-by pelted the monkey with small rocks and wood, as well as throwing firecrackers on the ground in the hope that the loud noises would scare it.

The dog was checked for injuries and adopted by a local, and is doing well. The monkey was part of a gang of animals already known to steal food from houses.

In Thailand, another troublesome monkey kidnapped a kitten back in 2019.

The primate grabbed the feline as it wandered around outside a home in Rayong - footage shows the monkey on a roof holding the terrified kitten in its arms before it eats a series of bananas as shocked onlookers look on in horror.

Residents recognised the monkey as it had been terrorising locals in recent months by stealing food. 

The creatures have even gone as far as kidnapping and killing children - in 2021, tragedy struck when monkeys in southern India snatched a pair of eight-day-old twins from their home before killing one of the girls, their mother claimed.

The woman, named only as 26-year-old R. Buvaneswari, claimed the attack took place in the city of Thanjavur while she was home alone with the children.

Buvaneswari told local media that the monkeys broke in through the roof, took the girls, and that she later found one of the twins dead in a moat behind her house.

Killer attacks 

Just last month, a 15-year-old girl died and her sister sustained injuries when they fell into a dry well after they were set upon by raging wild monkeys in India.

Sapna and her sister Sadhna, 19, plunged down the well in the Nai Nagla locality of Uttar Pradesh two days ago when they were working on the terrace of their home.

After the horrific ordeal, they were taken to the hospital by locals. Sapna passed away during treatment, while Sadhna was in critical condition, the Times of India reported.

Just last month, a 15-year-old girl died and her sister sustained injuries when they fell into a dry well after they were set upon by some raging monkeys in India (stock image)

Three months earlier in November 2023, another vicious attack saw a 10-year-old boy be mercilessly killed by a monkey after it tore his intestines out.

Police said the boy, who was identified as Dipak Thakor, was killed by a 'notorious gang' of monkeys while he and his friends were playing near a temple in Salki, a small village in the western state of Gujarat, on Tuesday.

He and his friends were attacked, and a monkey managed to dig its claws into him, before killing him.

Back in 2021, another Indian man was killed after a primate threw a brick at him from the second floor of a building.

Local police confirmed that 30-year-old Mohammad Kurbaan was killed after being hit in the head with the falling brick in Central Delhi’s Nabi Karim area.

Kurbaan, who sold bags from a shop in the area, collapsed after being hit with the brick and was taken to hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead.

Similarly, in 2023 a three-year-old boy was killed after monkeys pushed a boulder from a roof onto his head. 

Locals in India's central Telangana state said Devunuri Abhinav was playing below the tin roof when a gang of monkeys who had been jumping around caused the boulder to fall off and onto the child. 

Turning on their owners 

In June 2019, one man died and his son ended up in hospital after their pet monkey set upon them in a coconut grove in Malaysia.

Ngah Muhammad, 72, tried to get the monkey to climb a tree and fetch him coconuts but the animal attacked him and severed an artery in his wrist.

This monkey attacked its 72-year-old owner, leaving him bleeding to death from a severed artery, and also bit his 29-year-old son on the neck 

His son, 29-year-old Mohd Zakaria Ngah, grew suspicious when he could not hear the sound of either the monkey or coconuts falling to the ground.

He went to investigate and found his father lying on the ground unconscious at the back of the house, in Terengganu state in north-western Malaysia. 

Initially, he did not realise that the monkey had caused the injury - but when he tried to go to his father's aid, the animal attacked him too.

The monkey bit Mohd on the neck and caused him to scream, raising the alarm with neighbours who were able to drive the monkey off.

Now, as the creatures make headlines for their antics in Thailand, Lopburi has become known in recent years for its out-of-control population monkey population, leading some to like it to an apocalyptic hellscape - with monkeys even commandeering empty buildings. 

They were seen engaging in a massive gang fight in the depths of the pandemic when there was a shortage of food. Attacks on cars, homes, market stalls, and visitors have become increasingly frequent. 

The Thai government is struggling to control its macaque problem but has taken steps to manage the monkey population across the country, including creating sanctuaries, mass sterilisation programs, educating the public on how to handle the animals properly, and relocating them to more suitable habitats.