Theft gone wrong

A thief was forced to surrender his precious loot of jewelry to escape from security personnel in the western city of Patras Sunday, police say.

The thief used a ladder to get on the roof of a jewelry store Sunday afternoon. Once up, he removed some tiles, used a sharp instrument to cut through the false ceiling and slid into the store. He filled a bag with several items; police say, the bag contained 109 watches, 7 watch straps and pens worth €150,000. The thief also grabbed many necklaces, rings and earrings whose value has not been estimated yet.

Outside the door, he was confronted by employees of the security firm whose alarm had gone off; in the struggle, the thief managed to escape but had to let go of the bag.

Police say they are looking for the suspect.