More Than 1,000 Cartons of Ice Cream Stolen in Citywide Robbery Spree: Police

NEW YORK CITY, NY — Remember that scene in "The Dark Knight" where The Joker steals nearly all the money in Gotham and assembles a giant mountain of cash? Now imagine that with ice cream.

Three master thieves are accused of stealing more than 1,000 pints of ice cream during a citywide robbery spree earlier this year, police told Patch. The three men robbed drug stores in neighborhoods such as the Upper East Side, Chelsea, Gramercy, the Financial District and the West Village.

Their cumulative haul: 1,126 ice cream pints, 123 ice cream bars, 6 cartons of Muscle Milk, 138 Red Bull, 20 5-Hour Energy and more than $1,000 in cold medicine, according to police.

When it comes to shoplifters, these guys are the cream of the crop.

The suspects limited their taste in ice cream to just three brands, Haagen Dazs, Talenti Gelato and Ben & Jerry's.

The robberies occurred during a three-month span from November 16 to January 17, police said. All of the thefts occurred at pharmacies such as Duane Read, CVS and Rite Aid. The brazen thieves even hit the same Duane Read — 777 Avenue of the Americas — four times including twice within two hours on the same day, police said.

Police say the men are likely in their 20s and released photos of them from surveillance video.

Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or 1-888-57-PISTA (74782) for Spanish. The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime stoppers website or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) and entering TIP577. All tips are confidential.

Photo: NYPD