Burglars who broke into Hilliers Chichester garden centre and stole cash were spotted on a CCTV camera.
The camera captured the trio of intruders in the early hours of a Saturday in late November.
The footage reveals that one of the group realised he was being filmed and pointed the camera out to the other two.
Two of them looked directly at the camera whilst another, wearing a wide-brimmed hat, attempted to cover his face. They left after forcing the till and stealing cash, eluding the police, who arrived a short time later with dogs.
Officers believe the men could be connected to another local break-in on the same day.