Pure greed: Heartless thieves targeting charity bins across Melbourne
Heartless thieves have been approaching charity bins and stuffing their luxury cars full of clothing in a shocking behaviour caught on CCTV.
In a disturbing string of robberies, thieves have been targeting Salvation Army stores across Melbourne and rummaging though donated goods.
The robbers sort through the clothing left for the poor, picking out what they want and discarding what they don’t like.
In footage obtained exclusively by 7 News, a group of men pull up outside of a charity area and sort through the clothing and throw on the ground an item they don't want before fleeing in a BMW.
Police drive by one woman who doesn’t even flinch as she sorts through a bin full of clothing and flees with a purple suitcase full of goods.
In other scenes, a woman and a man grab bags sitting out the front of a charity and run off with them.
The Salvation Army says these heartless thieves are taking essential items away from those struggling to make ends meet and it is costing the company millions.
"Don't steal from anybody, but particularly don't steal from the poor, because that's really what they're doing,” Major Paul Hateley told 7 News.
"Each year we're spending $6 million dollars nationally on dumping fees whereby people have just left their rubbish.
"Any income we don't get into the store is less income we can put into our programs.”
A report conducted by the Salvation Army reveals that the people who heavily rely on these charity bins are living on just $16 a day.
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