The Irish travellers accused of scamming and stealing their way around Brisbane allegedly used their children to swipe designer shoes, police revealed today as they released new pictures of the suspects.
One mother distracted a shop worker while her toddler allegedly pilfered a pair of Chanel shoes, worth hundreds of dollars, and placed them in a pram.
The alleged crime is among 12 complaints Queensland Police have received about the same group of Irish tourists since January.
The Irish travellers accused of scamming and stealing their way around Brisbane allegedly used their children to steal designer shoes, police revealed today
One mother distracted a shop worker while her toddler allegedly swiped a pair of Chanel shoes, worth hundreds of dollars, and placed them in a pram. Pictured: Images released by police
The alleged crime is among 12 complaints Queensland Police have received about the same group of Irish tourists since January. Pictured: Images released by police
Detective Fleming said he believes he knows who the alleged culprits are and that the Australian Border Force is trying to track down a group nine ‘ disrespectful’ men and women. Pictured: Images released by police
Officers are trying to assemble enough evidence to have them deported as soon as possible, Detective Superintendent Tony Fleming said today in a press conference.
The women are believed to be accompanied in the country by several men.
Police say the men solicit for work offering discounted repairs on driveways and roofing before doing a botched job or failing to even turn up.
Detective Fleming said he believes he knows who the alleged culprits are. The Australian Border Force is trying to track down a group nine ‘disrespectful’ men and women.
Members of the group have been accused of stealing groceries from supermarkets and scamming restaurants for free meals by claiming they found glass or hair in their food.
‘There’s a bit of an art and craft to this, they generally remain highly mobile and they don’t stay in one place too long and my experience tells me they are generally alert to the practices of police,’ Fleming said.
The women are believed to be accompanied in the country by several men. Police released these images of the men they believe are linked to the women
Police say the men solicit for work offering discounted repairs on driveways and roofing whilst providing sub-standard services or failing to complete the work or to even turn up. Police released these images of the men they believe are linked to the women
Detectives are trying to assemble enough evidence to have them deported as soon as possible, Detective Superintendent Tony Fleming said in a press conference
Police said: ‘Some of these people have been working in groups targeting retail stores stealing goods and money, and obtaining free food and beverages from restaurants claiming foreign objects, such as glass, are in their food.’ Police released these images of the men they believe are linked to the women
Police said: ‘Another incident involved four men claiming to have found hair in their food at a Brisbane restaurant and then leaving without paying’. Police released these images of the men they believe are linked to the women
Police said: ‘With all the attention they’ve got … I would suspect they would go mobile very quickly either elsewhere in Queensland or interstate.’ Police released these images of the men they believe are linked to the women
‘Based on the CCTV they don’t seem to be concerned in any way shape or form about being seen or detected, that either means they’ve done nothing wrong or they’re incredibly brazen and they have no respect for the law and more importantly have no respect for the people in our community.
‘With all the attention they’ve got … I would suspect they would go mobile very quickly either elsewhere in Queensland or interstate.’
Superintendent Fleming said it was a case of when, not if, police find the group.
‘It’s one thing to make a mistake but what we’ve got before us appears to be a group of people who are incredibly brazen, disrespectful and they’re likely to continue to offend,’ he said.
‘We’ve brought the case together under one command to try and co-ordinate the investigations across the south-east.’
It comes after CCTV footage appeared to show at least two women filling their bags at Brisbane’s Chevron Island supermarket before allegedly making off with stolen shopping.
The CCTV footage show how a staff member approaches the group before the blonde woman appears to frantically unload the goods from her handbag into her basket, revealing the items she allegedly planned to steal.
The owner of a Gold Coast grocery store claims the Irish mothers accused of scamming businesses across Queensland had wads of $50 stuffed in their bras
The supermarket owner alleges the ‘attractive’ women stole $100 worth of groceries, the man identified as ‘Nash’ told Hit 105
Shocking footage also shows one of the women allegedly swiping a stack of meat trays from the shop floor.
Queensland police told Daily Mail Australia: ‘Police are aware of the incident and are making follow up inquiries.’
Police are now investigating if the mothers are linked to an Irish fraudster who was recently arrested in Broadbeach but failed to show up at court, reported Seven News.
Several small business owners across Brisbane claim they have been scammed by the same women, who have been spotted around the city with two prams and at least four children.
Managers of several restaurants claim the women have been planting shards of glass in their meals before refusing to pay.
The group of Irish ‘gypsy’ tourists (pictured) accused of scamming restaurants across Brisbane
The three mothers and their children (pictured) have been accused by dozens of businesses in Queensland of planting glass shards in their meals to get a free feed
The group of Irish mothers (pictured) are accused of demanding a lunch worth $20 for free
In another recent scam, the Irish travellers allegedly ordered sandwiches at a coffee shop but when the manager asked for payment, the women claimed they had been given the wrong food the day before and wanted their meals – worth $20 – for free.
The manager said he had worked the previous day and hadn’t seen the women at all.
‘They started getting aggressive and so then I eventually just gave them three of the sandwiches that they said they ordered and then they asked for another one,’ he told the Brisbane Times.
Staff at the International Hotel also claimed the same women came into their venue, asking for free drinks and cigarettes because the cigarette machine wasn’t working.
‘At the end they complained the steak wasn’t cooked properly so obviously we gave them a free meal,’ Nikki Watts of the International Hotel told Seven News.
One canny restaurant manager convinced the women to leave their details with him after sensing he was being scammed by the infamous glass trick.
Pictured is a shard of glass an Irish mother claimed to have found in her meal at Bird’s Nest Restaurant
Mido Nassif, who works at Wilson’s seafood restaurant, asked the women for their contact details on the pretense of wanting to later check if they were OK.
One woman then wrote a note with the name ‘Jenny’ above a UK address and phone number.
The note said they were staying ‘In Birisborin’ (Brisbane) at a ‘Hilton Hotel’.
The manager said the two women – who were dressed like they were ‘going to a nightclub’ – left without paying their $260 bill.
The Irish travellers first came to public attention when the owner of Bird’s Nest restaurant Marie Yokoyama shared her experience of the glass scam on Facebook and warned other owners to watch out.
One of the women gave a note (pictured) to a restaurant after claiming to find glass in a meal