A warning to journalists covering the Rio Olympics: Thieves in Rio have upped their game.
Sydney-based sports photographer Brett Costello, who works for News Corp., was at a coffee shop in Ipanema Thursday when the thieves struck. “I was ordering the coffee and was with my gear and then all of a sudden a woman asked me a question, so I turned briefly, probably for 10-seconds,” Costello told the Courier Mail. “I felt something was not quite right and my bag with all my gear was gone. I was in shock. No one saw a thing.” All that gear was valued at $40,000.
Then on Saturday, Costello was entering Sambodromo stadium when he saw a man wearing his photographer’s vest—emblazoned with his number, 1467—trying to get through security. Yahoo Sports captured the confrontation.