POLICE IN NEW York City are looking for a quick-thinking thief who stole an 39kg bucket of gold flakes worth nearly $1.6 million (€1.5 million) off an armoured truck in Manhattan.

The unidentified thief swiped the 18-litre metal bucket off the back of the vehicle on Sept. 29 when a guard briefly went to the truck’s cab to reportedly retrieve his mobile phone.

The incident occurred in broad daylight on West 48th Street in Midtown Manhattan.

Security video shows the black bucket on a pallet inside the open back door of the truck. The man looks around, approaches the truck and lifts the bucket out.

NYPD NYPD

Two men are standing on the path beside the truck, engaged in animated conversation, and don’t appear to notice the man with the bucket walking past them.

Lots of other pedestrians and vehicles stream past as he heads down the sidewalk with one arm wrapped around the bucket and his other hand beneath it.

At one point, he sets it down at the road, takes a breather for a few seconds, then hoists it again and steps into the street.

Police say it took the thief an hour to complete what would normally be considered a 10-minute walk. He then hopped into a white van and fled.

Police say the suspect likely didn’t know what the bucket contained.

The suspect is believed to be hiding out in Florida.

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