A Sydney man is due to appear in court today charged with stealing more than NZ$650,000 worth of limited-edition Bluey coins.
Bluey is a cartoon Blue Heeler puppy on a popular Australian animated show. The series follows the adventures of the inexhaustible six-year-old, her curious four-year-old sister Bingo, and their parents Chilli and Bandit.
Police were called on July 12 following a report that 63,000 unreleased Bluey Dollarbucks – produced by the Australian Mint – had been stolen from a warehouse in Wetherill Park.
New South Wales Police formed Strike Force Bandit to investigate the incident.
A search carried out at a home in Sefton on July 31 led to the seizure of 189 unreleased $1 Bluey coins and several electronic devices.
A search at a home in Westmead this morning led to the arrest of a 47-year-old man.
Police allege the man, a warehouse employee, stole the Australian Mint packages containing the coins – valued at NZ$654,862 – from the back of a truck on June 23. The coins were sold online hours later.
The coins were now being sold online for 10 times their face value.
The warehouse employee was due to appear in the Parramatta Local Court today charged with three counts of breaking and entering to commit a serious indictable offence.
