Australia 2024: Tradie brazenly fills his bag with hundreds of dollars worth of stolen meat in full view of supermarket shoppers – but Aussies are on HIS side for one very simple reason
A tradie has been accused more than 20 times of stealing $12,000 worth of cartons of meat from supermarket shelves, but the online response has supported rather than condemned his actions.
The alleged thief was recently caught collecting cuts of premium meat, including Wagyu beef, from a Drakes supermarket in South Australia.
Shocking CCTV footage captured the moment the man – dressed in a bright orange hi-vis jacket – placed the meat parcels in his cool bag.
A man wearing a security jacket (pictured) is said to have stolen expensive cuts of meat worth $12,000 more than 27 times
Less than five minutes later, he walked slowly past the supermarket checkout without paying for the products.
The alleged thief is accused of carrying out the act from the supermarket no less than 27 times.
Drakes Supermarkets director John Paul Drake said the company has been forced to install GPS trackers on its meat products in a bid to stop people stealing the expensive item.
“We know these products are not going to people in need, people in need don’t need Wagyu or Angus pure beef to have on the table,” he said. A current issue.
The company has reported the man’s brutal behavior to the police.
A South Australian Police spokeswoman said officers from Daily Mail Australia are currently investigating the alleged theft.
The man is said to have stolen dozens of packs of expensive meat (pictured) before walking out without paying, as captured on CCTV footage
Drakes Supermarkets director John Paul Drake (pictured, centre) said the company has been forced to install GPS trackers to combat meat theft
Data from Auror, a platform that offers retailers technological solutions to reduce the number of stolen products, shows that more than 67,000 cases of stolen meat were registered last year.
Beef is the most stolen item, followed by chicken, lamb and pork.
‘Meat is the number one choice that the [thieves] what we’re going after,” Mr. Drake said.
Mr Drake has uploaded several videos to social media identifying alleged thieves caught on CCTV cameras stealing meat.
He confronted a man at a Drakes supermarket in Adelaide who tried to walk out of the store without paying.
“I said, look buddy, I know it’s tough out there, but this isn’t the place to go out with this kind of product.”
Mr Drake said he confronted a man who was allegedly trying to steal parcels of meat from an Adelaide store. Beef is the most popular meat product stolen from supermarkets (pictured)
The man’s alleged actions come as Australians continue to express frustration over the cost of living and the amount they spend on groceries.
For example, reactions to images of the tradie in the supermarket were overwhelmingly in his favour, as shoppers criticized the big supermarkets for their prices.
“A lot of people are struggling to feed themselves, while places like ww (Woolworths) pay their CEOs around $10 million a year,” said one shopper.
“I don’t even consider a giveaway here or there as stealing.”
‘Stop asking for ridiculous amounts of money. If that share wasn’t [allegedly] stolen, it would be thrown away like everything else,” another person wrote.
‘Woolworth made a profit of $1.74 billion last year! Who is cheating whom in these situations?’
While much of the anger was directed at Coles and Woolworths, one commentator claimed that Drakes – where the CCTV footage was captured – is ‘the same… just on a smaller scale’.
Drake said stolen packs of Wagyu beef cost the supermarket chain up to $12 million a year.
Two South Australian Drakes stores installed GPS trackers on their meat products last month – the first supermarkets in Australia to use the technology.
The GPS tracks the items as they leave the store and provides retailers with data they can share with law enforcement.
Drakes is considering a move to use the technology across its 67 stores in South Australia and Queensland.
Earlier this year, the Albanian government launched an ACCC investigation into the sector to review supermarket prices.
The review was ordered after allegations of price gouging by major supermarket chains.
This week, a Greens-led Senate Committee on Supermarket Prices also recommended making price gouging illegal, and introducing new laws that would allow the break-up of Australia’s supermarket duopoly.