A Queensland businessman has been forced to increase security around several of his fruit stands after a man was caught red-handed stealing large quantities of bananas and fleeing the scene.
The man, wearing a black sleeveless shirt, wearing a dark cap backwards and driving a Maserati, was seen stopping at a roadside banana stall around 3.30pm on Thursday.
In the footage, the man approached the stand and began loading as many bananas as he could physically carry before leaving the stand, allegedly without paying.
In the footage, the man approached the stand and began loading as many bananas as he could physically carry before leaving the stand, allegedly without paying. Image: Nine
The stand’s business owner, Aaron Marsh, said he had no problem if he had no money “and the kids are hungry, grab a banana.”
His problem is that the man clearly has “a lot of money” because of his luxury car and he was upset because he felt the need to “shamelessly help himself.”
The man appeared to be driving a Maserati Levante, which costs from more than $157,000 in Australia.
“That’s disturbing,” Marsh told Nine News.
The business owner currently owns seven unmanned banana stands in Cairns. The stall operates according to an honesty system, where customers can pay by cash or card.
The unmanned stands operate on an honesty system, which may need to change if thieves continue to steal. Image: Nine
However, due to a spike in alleged thefts, Mr Marsh has been forced to consider closing the stalls.
“If everyone steals, they’ll probably go and everyone will have to go to the supermarkets,” he said.
Signs show the bananas cost $2 per kilogram, a significant discount from what major retailers charge.
Mr Marsh said he was trying to keep his prices low as more and more people came under financial pressure.
“We’ve kept our prices so low that it affects everyone these days,” Marsh said.