Sneakily stuffing groceries into their handbags, the Irish mothers accused of scamming businesses across Brisbane have allegedly been caught stealing from a supermarket.
CCTV footage shows at least two women filling their bags at the city’s Chevron Island store before allegedly making off with 150 dollars’ worth of shopping.
When a staff member approaches, the blonde woman frantically unloads the goods from her handbag into her basket, revealing the items she allegedly planned to steal.
Sneakily stuffing groceries into their handbags, the Irish gypsies accused of scamming businesses across Brisbane have allegedly been caught stealing from a supermarket
CCTV footage shows at least two women filling their bags at the city’s Chevron Island store before allegedly making off with 150 dollars’ worth of shopping
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
In another recent scam, the Irish travellers 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.
The group of Irish mothers (pictured) are accused of demanding a lunch worth $20 for free
One canny restaurant manager convinced the women to leave their details with him after sensing he was being scammed by the infamous glass trick.
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.
Pictured is a shard of glass an Irish mother claimed to have found in her meal at Bird’s Nest Restaurant
One of the women gave a note (pictured) to a restaurant after claiming to find glass in a meal