A criminal enterprise designed and executed by monkeys

A cabal of furry thieves snatch iPhones and other valuables from visitors to a temple in Bali—and trade them for mangos

Excerpt: "PECATU, Indonesia—At a cliff-side temple on the tropical island of Bali, an unexpected group of criminals is running one of the world’s most sophisticated scam operations.

Every week, they steal dozens of phones, wallets and other valuables from tourists in broad daylight and exchange them for handsome rewards. It’s been going on for decades and nobody’s been able to stop it. 

The culprits? Long-tailed macaques.

“The monkeys have taken over the temple,” said Jonathan Hammé, a tourist from London whose sunglasses were stolen by a monkey during a visit last year. “They’re running a scam.”'