Strike Force Bandit investigators have got their man, arresting a 47-year-old accused of pinching $600,000 worth of collector’s item Bluey coins.
A would-be bandit has been accused of pulling off a cartoonishly audacious heist, accused of stealing a shipment of limited-edition coins for Australia’s favourite fictional dog.
The 47-year-old is alleged to have nabbed $600,000 worth of unreleased Bluey coins while working at a warehouse in western Sydney on June 23.
While employed at a secure storage facility, police believe the man moved the coins into an unsecure location before two as-yet unidentified men stole them.
A 500kg pallet containing 64,000 of the collector’s item $1 coins was taken.
But the coins were being sold online for about $10 each, likely due to the popularity of everyone’s favourite blue heeler.
Detective Superintendent Joseph Doueihi admitted he did not know about the hit show before the sting but said making sure kids could enjoy the coins made arresting the 47-year-old on Wednesday extra special.
“I wasn’t aware personally because I don’t have kids of that age, but we are certainly aware of how popular he is and the fact the theft of these coins have deprived a lot of young children and members of the community from having access,” he said.
“We’re doing our absolute best to try to recover these coins and put them back into circulation.”
Police raided a Sefton property on July 31 and recovered 189 of the unreleased coins, but discovered the person selling the coins was a legitimate coin collector who had innocently come into their possession.
Unfortunately for the collector, who police said paid about $1.50 for each coin, the authorities seized his stash as proceeds of crime.
The mint announced a run of Bluey “Dollarbucks” collector coins in June, differing from the stolen coins that were due to be put into circulation.
The coins were not scheduled to be released until September, but police believe some are already doing the rounds.
“It is more than likely that these coins are in general circulation, and if you are one of those lucky people who have come across one of those coins now, we don’t ask that you surrender it at this point,” Det Supt Doueihi said.
“(But) we are seeking information from anyone who may know where bulk quantities of these coins are.”
The 47-year-old faced Parramatta Local Court on Wednesday facing three counts of aggravated break and enter to commit a serious indictable offence.
He was denied bail and will return to court on October 3.
As for the police, they are happy to feature in a special edition of Bluey if its creators want to honour their dogged work.
“It was a big moment when we came across the coins through the legitimate coin dealer … if the producers decide to make an episode on this, that would be fine,” Det Supt Doueihi said.
The Project with AAP.
