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 alleged the ‘attractive’ women stole $100 worth of groceries, the man identified as ‘Nash’ told Hit 105.
He said one of the women had $50 notes stuffed inside of her bra.
CCTV footage appears to show at least two women filling their bags at the Chevron Island store before allegedly making off with stolen shopping.
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
The Spar store owner ‘Nash’ said he had been on the receiving end of similar scams when he lived in the United Kingdom.
‘I knew something was up when these ladies came in and one gentleman was outside in the ute,’ he said.
‘I went running to the front to watch him and they were just filling their bags up and really getting lots of baskets and groceries.’
He said despite appearing to browse for a significant amount of time they turned up to the counter with only a few items.
‘They basically said this is all I’ve got. I said ‘I need to see your bags’ and I saw all this other stuff in there and she said, ‘I’ll pay for all this separately’.’
‘They were attractive girls wearing designer stuff. One of them had wads of $50 notes in her bra, 20 or 30 of them, and the other one was spreading $50 notes over the counter while she was paying me.’
Nash said the women did not seem concerned about not paying for their groceries.
‘They had money but they just wanted to do this,’ he claimed.
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 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
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 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