An alleged organised retail theft ring mainly made up of Indian immigrants – many on expired visas – has been taken down by police in Melbourne.
Victoria Police allege the professional thieves were responsible for stealing $10 million worth of goods from major supermarkets, and funnelling the stolen products to a network of “receivers” who then sold them to black market buyers for profit.
During the almost year-long blitz under Operation Supernova, 31 alleged members of the syndicate were arrested, and of those 18 have been imprisoned, and 10 remain before the courts.
The final arrest was of a 39-year-old Indian alleged illegal immigrant who was filmed by A Current Affair being escorted out of his home in Sunshine West.
Police allege he stole $160,000 worth of expensive supermarket items, including razors, electric toothbrushes, vitamins and skincare products from stores in Melbourne, Ballarat and Geelong, and charged him with 68 counts of theft and 19 counts of attempted theft. He is yet to face court.
Victoria Police Superintendent Matthew Baynes said the alleged syndicate was highly professional and targeted high-end goods.
“A lot of it was being organised, and pre-planned thefts to-order,” he said.
“What we see commonly is the organised shop theft groups will be well-planned, they’ll work in teams, they’ll target locations they think might be susceptible to theft, they travel long distances.”
“People might think it’s a victimless crime, but it’s absolutely not. It impacts the business, but then ultimately that’s passed onto the consumer – and that impacts working families.”
Police said many of those charged were Indian nationals living in Australia unlawfully after their temporary visas had expired, and will likely be deported after serving their sentences.
The bulk of the arrests were made in August late last year, and police said at the time the alleged syndicate was one the largest seen in recent years.
Header image: Left, the 39-year-old man being arrested in Sunshine West (A Current Affair). Right, another Indian syndicate member being arrested last year (Victoria Police).
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