Brazen wallet theft caught on camera, says Vancouver drone store

The owners of Drones Plus in Vancouver have released security footage apparently showing the brazen theft of an employee's wallet last night — including her Ethiopian passport — from right under her nose.

The CCTV video shows a man entering the store on West 4th Avenue at Pine Street around 7 p.m. PT, as store clerk Yabsera Aklilu was closing up for the night.

He asked Aklilu if he could use the phone, claiming he was locked out of his car, with his dog inside.

She agreed and continued working at the computer. But while the man seemed to be chatting on the phone in front of her, the video footage appears to show him grabbing her wallet, rifling through the contents then pocketing the whole thing.

Vancouver police did not immediately respond to the CBC's request for comment on the alleged theft.

Aklilu didn't realize it was gone until she was leaving for the night.

"After I ransacked the whole store and realized that my wallet wasn't there, it clicked that he could have taken it," she said.

The surveillance video appears to confirm her suspicion.

"At that point, it was just horrible. I have so many things in my wallet like my Ethiopian passport that is so hard to replace."

Aklilu has filed a police report, and hopes the video released by the store's owner will help find the man.

"It's really frustrating because I could have said, 'No, you can't use the company phone,'" she said.

"It was just to help him out ... and to have him just blatantly take my wallet, it sucks."