'Stolen Coles meat' worth $2000 found after driver pulled over
Police uncovered a massive haul of what appeared to be stolen meat and seafood in a car after pulling over a man in Cairnlea in Melbourne earlier this month.
Despite his reluctance to reveal his plans at first, Victoria police said the Cheltenham man admitted he had plans to sell it all for $100, despite the stash of Coles products being valued at about $2000.
Photos of the discovery were shared on a Facebook page run by the Brimbank Police Service Area of Victoria Police and show an array of salmon, prawns, pork chops and beef roasts scattered on the side of the road.
"Must have won the meat tray," it wrote in the post, before detailing what happened.
"After a number of attempts to explain what he was doing with all of the meat, he settled on meating (yes I know) someone to sell it for $100.
"With the meat (lamb, salmon and prawns) being valued at in excess of $2000, that's quite the bargain."
Victoria Police confirmed the incident occurred on June 12 and the meat was immediately returned to Coles in Cairnlea, where it's believed to have come from.
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Yahoo News Australia understands the supermarket was expected to donate the meat haul to RSPCA, but Coles was unable to confirm.
"The Cheltenham man is expected to be charged on summons after he was found with more than $2000 worth of fresh produce in Cairnlea on Sunday 12 June," Victoria police said in a statement.
"He was interviewed in relation to dealing with property suspected as being proceeds of crime."
The male will be summoned to appear in court at a later date.
Facebook erupts: 'What a silly sausage'
The unusual crime sparked quite the reaction online with the post attracting hundreds of comments and shares.
"Hopefully he learns from his mis-steak," one person joked.
"I'm surprised there's no lettuce in the mix," another wrote, referring to the exorbitant produce prices currently.
"What a silly sausage. I hope the judge doesn't mince their words and he gets grilled over this. People need to know what's at steak here," a third said.
Others, however, pointed out the amount of food waste involved, considering food prices are so high.
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