A group of thieves have Manhattan's East Side buzzing after committing a series of thefts that involved stealing thousands of dollars worth of toothbrushes, electric and manual, from Duane Reades stretching from Lenox Hill to Gramercy Park.

According to cops, the toothbrush bandits are a group of four to six teenagers have struck in four different Duane Reade locations on the east side of Manhattan, stealing a number of electric toothbrushes each time. In the first theft on April 9th, group got away with $1,264 worth of electric pearly white cleaners from a Duane Reade at 125 3rd Avenue.

On April 11, the group struck again, this time snagging $1,210 worth of electric toothbrushes from the Duane Reade at 1091 Lexington Avenue. Just over 15 minutes later, the group strolled into a nearby Duane Reade, at 1352 1st Avenue and got away with their largest haul, $3,030 worth of toothbrushes. After taking a couple of weeks off, the thieves hit one last Duane Reade at 155 East 34th Street, where they got away with $160 worth of electric toothbrushes on April 23rd.



(NYPD)

All told, the haul from the string of robberies was $5,564 worth of plaque-fighting equipment. After each theft, cops say the group fled in an unknown direction. The suspects are described as males between the ages of 15 and 19.

Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS or for Spanish 1-888-57-PISTA (74782)

The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers Website or texting their tips to 274637(CRIMES) then enter TIP577.