Bizarre case of 'fish bandit' who tapes carp to cash machines and films the results
19 January 2024, 17:47 | Updated: 19 January 2024, 17:50
A teenager who calls himself 'the fish bandit' is said to have been arrested for taping fish to cash machines.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
The unnamed 17-year-old stuck "dozens" of fish to ATMs and other public surfaces in the town of Provo in Utah, in the south-western US.
He also appears to have put cigarettes in their mouths, in another bizarre twist.
The boy filmed the fish once they were stuck up and posted the videos to social media.
On one occasion, he taped a fish to the door of a police car, and urged followers not to tag the police department in the post.
Local media outlets report that police have found the 'fish bandit', and referred him to a juvenile court. The case has since been closed.
The teenager, who has over 50,000 followers on Instagram, claimed that "no fish were harmed in the process" of making his videos.
His motto is: "Live, laugh, tape fish on ATMs".
He has a devoted following. One commenter on his latest Instagram video, from late December, said: "This is like a form of true art, the way this person shows there genius is absolutely stunning to the eyes to see such street art, it brings tears to my eyes such beauty, such divineness".
Another said: "He's not the hero we want he's also not the hero we need but he's the hero that's here for no reason".
The 'fish bandit' also appears to have been up to his tricks thousands of miles away in Japan. He posted a video of an ATM with Japanese script on it.
The teen added in a caption: "We’re going international".
Police are unsure what the boy's motive was. They said it may simply have been meant as a joke.
