However, this was no ordinary dead man’s hand – it was the hand of a saint.

The trio stole the hand of St Haralambie, who provides protection against plague and famine in the Romanian Orthodox tradition.

They were visiting the Mega Spileo Monastery in Kalavryta, with some 40 others when they decided to nab the holy relic.

Unbeknownst to them, however, the Greek monks were prepared for any theft attempts and an alarm sounded – alerting security.

The Romanian priests made a dash for it and threw the hand into some grass as they made their escape.

In the end they were caught and arrested, missing their opportunity to smuggle the hand back to Romania where, holy hands are big business with pilgrims waiting for hours or even days just to kiss the glass encasing such relics.