Two Thousand Mumbai Marathon Medals Stolen

For many their marathon medals are more precious than gold. However, six thieves in India thought they were actually gold leading to perhaps one of the most embarrassing gold heists in history.

During the Tata Mumbai Marathon last week, a group of labourers charged with installing the race’s infrastructure found the boxes of marathon medals stacked up in the Bombay Gymkhana ground and when they opened them up they thought they had literally struck gold. Quickly attempting to carry all of the 160 boxes of medals they raised suspicions from the local police officers who were on the race route for security, reported Hindustan Times.

“The team suspected some foul play as the labourers tried to avoid them. A search revealed that the sacks contained medals,” the officer said.

After searching the individuals, Police found 62 medals on their person and after alerting the race organisers, the true extent of what they had stolen became clear with 2,200 medals having gone missing, a total of 22 of the 160 boxes.

“The labourers were engaged in installing tents and fixing banners. The accused thought the medals were made of gold and decided to steal them,” said Pravin Munde, deputy commissioner of police, zone 1.

Six people were subsequently arrested. However, the rest of the medals have yet to be recovered with around 500 of the over 50,000 runners who took part in Asia’s biggest marathon going home empty-handed. 

Clearly, no one had ever told the thieves that while they might be priceless to the person who has earned them; marathon medals won’t make you a millionaire overnight, with the race organiser stating that the medals had a value of 138 rupees (around £2/$1.66).