When police in North Yorkshire, England received a call about a stolen travel trailer on Thursday, it likely seemed like a relatively straightforward case. They knew the trailer, or caravan as the Brits would say, was being towed by a darkly colored BMW X5 and were quickly able to track it down. When they finally stopped the car, however, the Guardian reports the coppers were in for a big surprise when they learned who the thief was — an 11-year-old boy.
The suspect’s name has not been released, presumably due to his age, but yes, you read that correctly. The mastermind behind the theft was a child not even old enough to watch a PG-13, movie. And based on what the police found, this was no spur-of-the-moment crime. Not only was he driving the X5 on false plates, but he also reportedly had several other plates inside the BMW, as well as other equipment used for stealing cars.
Sergeant Paul Cording tweeted a photo of the stolen trailer, saying, “Even after over 23 years service, you come across things that you struggle to comprehend. Like yesterday when some great fast track work from the team identified a recently stolen caravan being towed by a vehicle on false plates, but then to find the driver was only 11 years old!”
The police department also issued a statement, saying, “Nothing prepared us for finding the schoolboy sat at the wheel. A search of the car also revealed equipment typically used by suspects to carry out thefts and a selection of vehicle registration plates.”
The boy was arrested and faces several charges, including theft, burglary, going equipped for theft and dangerous driving, and he has since been released from jail. How seriously he will be punished, however, is not clear at this time. But hey, maybe you actually can learn a thing or two from TikTok.