HE may not be the smartest crook going around, but US man David Charles had plenty of brains.

Police in Indianapolis arrested Charles, 21, on December 16 after he stole 60 jars of brain tissue from the Indiana Medical History Museum.

A collector of unusual items had tipped off police, after six jars of human brains he'd bought for $US600 on eBay arrived still bearing their labels.

Fox59.com reports Charles had also offered "a bunch of human brains in jars" for sale on a Facebook page, suggesting buyers contact him if they "want one for Halloween".

After the tip-off police set up a sting the day after Charles stole more human tissue from the museum.

The museum had formerly housed patients with psychiatric and mental disorders, and the stolen tissue came from patient autopsies from the 1890s to the 1940s.