A man stole more than £6,500 from two banks in Israel after threatening staff with an avocado which he disguised as a grenade.
Police used cell-phone data to track the 47-year-old man after he held up two banks in one week in May.
In both incidents he used an avocado painted black to threaten the cashier, telling them it was a grenade, before making off with the cash.
The man first went to a bank in the southern city of Beersheba and handed the cashier a misspelled note demanding she hand over the cash at the counter, the Times of Israel reported.
When the cashier appeared to hesitate, the man told her: “put the money in the bag quickly or I’ll throw this grenade.”
He walked away with around £3,500 in cash.
Five days later he used the same tactic at another bank and left with around £2,600.
Overhead security footage in both incidents showed the man wearing hats that covered his face, sunglasses, and in once case, an eye patch.
After he was tracked down by police it was found that he had a criminal record, including once serving a three-year prison term for robbery, the paper reported.
