Australian police on Wednesday charged a man with nabbing thousands of collectable coins bearing the image of cartoon pup Bluey, a ruff day for the 47-year-old who faces time in the big house if convicted.
The warehouse worker allegedly snaffled 63,000 unreleased and limited edition $1 coins celebrating the Australian creation, popular worldwide. "Police will allege in court the man was an employee at a warehouse where he located and stole the Australian Mint packages from the back of a truck on Sunday 23 June 2024,” police said.
The coins were then sold online for 10 times their face value, giving the total haul a potential street value of about Aus$600,000 (US$400,000). As part of "Strike Force Bandit”, robbery and serious crime squad cops collared the man at a home in Western Sydney on Wednesday, after a month-long investigation. He was charged with three counts of breaking, entering and committing a serious indictable offence - charges that can carry a decades-long jail sentence. He was refused bail. — AFP