Gallstone thief avoids jail

An abattoir supervisor who stole and ate cattle gallstones has been given a wholly suspended jail term.

Dean Raymond Alfred Eames, 38, pleaded guilty in the Toowoomba Magistrates Court on Tuesday to stealing 414.2g of gallstones earlier this year.

He was arrested when the Toowoomba Stock and Rural Crime Investigation Squad raided his property after suspecting him of pilfering the valuable gallstones, which are used in Chinese herbal medicine, from a slaughterhouse at Oakey, west of Toowoomba.

The gallstones are used to treat hepatitis and other liver and gall bladder-related ailments, and can be worth up to $20,000 per kilogram depending on their quality.

The court heard Eames wasn't aware of their monetary value, but simply stole them to eat so he could fight the fatigue of working two jobs, the Toowoomba Chronicle reports.

Eames was sentenced to two months' jail, wholly suspended.