Yahoo Finance Coles shopper's wild way of shoplifting $143 worth of groceries: 'I didn't want to'
Adrian was caught stealing from his local Coles using a barcode wrapped around his finger.
A man has revealed how he was able to shoplift hundreds of dollars of groceries for next to nothing. Adrian Rondan knew what he was doing was wrong, but he didn't have enough money to pay for his shopping.
The problem is rife across Australia due to the cost-of-living crisis, with a Yahoo Finance poll of more than 8,000 people showing at least 12 per cent of people have shoplifted because they can't afford their normal groceries. But Rondan came up with a way to game the system several times.
“We were very short of money … I know I did wrong,” Adrian told A Current Affair. “I didn’t want to shoplift. … I didn’t want to brazenly take things and put them in my pocket.”
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When he would duck out to his local Coles supermarket in Wollongong, NSW, he would stick a barcode from a Caramello Koala wrapper to his finger and scan that for everything in his trolley.
One shop saw him pilfer bread, boxes of Golden Gaytime ice creams, chicken drumsticks, steak, coconut water and a hair clipper. The trolley was worth $143.10 all up, but he only paid $11.20.
Sometimes he would use a chocolate bar barcode, other times it would be from a gum wrapper or a Blu-Tac box.
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The 54-year-old Wollongong man admitted he resorted to shoplifting because of his mother's medical bills.
But he was eventually caught stealing on CCTV and was charged with five counts of dishonestly obtaining property by deception.
He pleaded guilty in court and has been sentenced to nine months in prison. He will serve it through an intensive corrections order at home.
Shoplifting rife amid cost-of-living crisis
Five-finger discounts are on the rise as the cost-of-living crisis continues to crunch down on Aussies' finances.
Research released by Finder found one in seven respondents, equivalent to three million Aussies, have admitted to shoplifting in the past 12 months.
When the data was last researched in October last year, 5 per cent of people said they stole at the supermarket checkout. That's now increased to 7 per cent.
The same portion of people (7 per cent) said they deliberately lied about what they scanned - which has doubled since last year.
Graham Cooke, head of consumer research at Finder, said the figures were alarming.
"Many households are struggling and are having to make difficult, and in some cases, criminal choices to cope," he said. "The youngest Aussies are seemingly the most affected."
Shoplifting is a crime and punishable under section 117 of the Crimes Act 1900. If the value of the stolen goods doesn’t go above $5,000, then a shoplifter can face a maximum penalty of a $5,500 fine and/or 12 months imprisonment if it’s dealt with in local court, according to LY Lawyers.
If the goods are valued above $5,000 then that maximum penalty goes up to two years behind bars. The maximum penalty for district court matters of shoplifting or larceny is up to five years in jail.
Coles reveals win against shoplifting
Coles and Woolworths have deployed anti-theft measures, like checkout technology, more security cameras, and smart-gates, to ensure shoplifting is kept to an absolute minimum.
While it has come under scrutiny, it's clearly worked for one brand.
In Coles' earnings announcement this week, where the supermarket announced a $1.1 billion profit, it revealed these measures contributed $80 million to Coles' bottom line in just the second half of the year.
Last year, Coles announced 20 per cent stock losses were from shoplifting and food waste, while competitor Woolies estimated theft made up a quarter of stock loss.
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