‘I know I did wrong’: NSW man caught using Caramello Koala barcodes to steal hundreds of dollars worth of groceries

A NSW man has been caught using a bizarre technique to steal hundreds of dollars worth of groceries. Wollongong man Adrian Rondan used Caramello Koala and gum barcodes in a bid to steal groceries from his local Coles. He was caught stealing on CCTV and has pleaded guilty at Wollongong Court to five counts of dishonestly obtaining property by deception. The 54-year-old was sentenced to nine months in prison and will serve it through an intensive corrections order at home. Rondan would use Blu Tack to stick the barcodes to his finger and scan them in place of other — often more expensive — items he walked out of the supermarket with. A Current Affair reported Rondan had walked away with ice-cream, mussels, steaks, and bug sprays, however his receipt only listed the gum packets and chocolates. One shopping trip Adrian scored bread, boxes of Golden Gaytime, chicken drumsticks, steak, coconut water and a hair clipper with a total value of $143.10. However he only paid $11.20. The 54-year-old has since admitted he was doing something wrong, but said his mother has expensive medical bills and led him to do something desperate and shoplift. “We were very short of money … I know I did wrong,” Adrian told A Current Affair. “I didn’t want to shoplift. … I didn’t want to brazenly take things and put them in my pocket.” Finder finance expert Taylor Blackburn revealed about seven per cent of Australians have admitted to stealing from supermarkets, which is almost double compared to last year’s figures.