An enormous haul of limited-edition Bluey coins has been recovered by Australian police in an operation dubbed "Strike Force Bandit," after a popular animated kids TV show.
Australian police have recovered approximately 40,000 collectible "Bluey" coins produced by the Royal Australian mint. Two months before the scheduled special release of the gold-colored coins, 63,000 were stolen from a warehouse in Western Sydney, according to BBC.
The coins, worth one Australian dollar (or 65 American cents), had previously sold online for up to ten times their face value according to New South Wales Police and reporting by BBC.
Police initiated a special investigation, dubbed Strike Force Bandit—named after Bluey's father, Bandit—shortly after the July heist. Their efforts led to a raid on a property just six miles from the warehouse where a majority of the missing coins were recovered.
Three suspects have been arrested in connection with the heist: 27-year-old Christina Vale, charged with breaking and entering and disposing of stolen property, and two men, Steven Nielsen and Nassar Kanj, aged 44, who were arrested in August.
Nielsen, a warehouse employee, allegedly orchestrated the theft with Kanj as an accomplice, while police claim Vale acted as their getaway driver.
The popular Bluey series, an international children's sensation featuring the Heeler dog family, inspired the "Bluey dollarbucks" coins, which display images of the show's characters.
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