Failed robbery on small Caribbean island of Tobago spawns memes and Batman references

PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad (AP) — Police in Trinidad and Tobago said Wednesday that they are searching for a group of robbers caught on camera who used a backhoe to try and steal a cash machine but bungled the movie-style heist so badly they ended up as memes.

Security camera footage shows at least four suspects fumbling around the crime scene. One of them bore a striking resemblance to Batman, wearing black clothing, a black ski mask and what looked like a black poncho that blew in the wind like the superhero’s cape. That person is seen tripping over debris and falling on the floor while attempting to direct the backhoe.

The Trinidad and Tobago Police Service said the suspects’ “efforts to remove the vault proved futile, after the arm of the backhoe sustained damage” during the incident early Wednesday.

The suspects were able to move the cash machine to the sidewalk with the backhoe, which police said they stole from a nearby beach. But after the backhoe’s arm stopped working – and their combined efforts to lift the cash machine onto a small truck also failed – the suspects gave up and sped off in what police said was a stolen vehicle.

The detached cash machine remained in the open, with authorities later responding to the scene in Tobago, the smaller of the twin-island nation. Based on the security video timestamp, the failed attempt lasted over 10 minutes all while a state of emergency remains in effect.

The video of the attempted robbery quickly went viral. Memes popped up on social media, callers on morning radio talk shows made fun of the failed robbers and a local newspaper headlined its story, “‘Batman’ and robbing.”

Trinidad and Tobago recently extended its state of emergency by three months, until September, as authorities struggle with violent crimes.