Shoplifter uses Caramello Koalas and Blu Tack to steal hundreds worth of groceries
A barcode bandit's efforts to steal hundreds of dollars worth of groceries using Blu Tack and chocolate bars have come unstuck in a NSW courtroom.
Wollongong man Adrian cheated his local Coles over several visits by sticking barcodes from Caramello Koalas and chewing gum packets to his finger with Blu Tack and scanning them at self-service checkouts while covering the barcodes of other items he placed in his shopping bag.
The 54-year-old filled his trolley with everything from ice creams, to mussels, toothpaste and bug spray, but his receipts showed he instead paid for several confectionery items.
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The man cheated his local Coles by sticking barcodes from Caramello Koalas to his finger with Blu Tack while covering the barcodes of other items. Nine
On one occasion, Adrian treated himself to loaves of bread, boxes of Golden Gaytimes and other ice creams, chicken drumsticks, an $18 porterhouse steak, coconut Water, and a $60 hair clipper.
The big shop should've cost him $143.10, but Adrian paid just $11.20 - zapping through 13 chocolate bars.
Adrian, who's unemployed, said he was short of cash because of his mother's expensive medical bills.
Adrian, who's unemployed, said he was short of cash because of his mother's expensive medical bills. Nine
"We were very short of money ... I know I did wrong," he told A Current Affair.
"I didn't want to shoplift. ...I didn't want to brazenly take things and put them in my pocket," he said of the unique method of theft.
Adrian is not alone in his pursuit to secure a five-finger discount.
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The 54-year-old filled his trolley with everything from ice creams, to mussels, toothpaste and bug spray, but his receipts showed he instead paid for several confectionery items. Nine
About 7 per cent of Australians have admitted to stealing from supermarkets or scanning through an item as something else, Finder finance expert Taylor Blackburn said.
That number has almost doubled since last year.
"It's one thing to do everything you can to save a buck, but having a criminal record may not be the best way to go about it," Blackburn said.
After Adrian was caught on CCTV, he was charged and pleaded guilty at Wollongong Court to five counts of dishonestly obtaining property by deception.
He was sentenced to nine months in prison, to be served by way of an intensive corrections order at home.
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