'Bluey' coins worth $400,000 stolen by Australian warehouse worker, police say

SYDNEY - An Australian man is set to appear in court on Wednesday after being arrested for the alleged theft of more than A$600,000 ($393,000) worth of commemorative coins linked to the popular children's television show "Bluey", police said.

The 47-year-old is accused of stealing 63,000 unreleased, limited-edition A$1 coins from a secure warehouse in the Sydney suburb of Wetherill Park in June, according to "Strike Force Bandit", a special unit police set up to investigate the theft.

One of last year's most streamed television shows in the United States, the Australian animated show targeted at children is widely loved by adults too and is the 14th highest-rated show of all time, movie tracker website IMDB.com showed.

The coins, produced by the Australian mint, are legal tender and resemble regular A$1 coins albeit with one face featuring the anthropomorphic canine character "Bluey". Police say they are selling online for 10 times their face value.

A similar run of special commemorative coins sell for A$20 each on the mint's website - coins designed to be collectors' items only and not legal tender. One eBay seller was charging almost A$600 for a pack of three.

Detective Superintendent Joseph Doueihi told reporters at a press conference he was not initially aware of the show's popularity.

"The theft of these coins have deprived a lot of young children and members of the community from having access to these coins, so we're doing our absolute best to try to recover these coins and put them back into circulation."

Police said the man worked at the warehouse where the coins were being stored for two days on their way to Brisbane.

They alleged he stole the coins, which weighed 500 kilograms (1102 lb), from the back of a truck with the help of two male accomplices. The coins were then sold online within hours.

A raid on a Sydney house in June recovered 189 coins but Doueihi said the vast bulk of coins are already in circulation. Those who have received one do not need to surrender it to police, he said.

($1=1.5267 Australian dollars)