Thi Vo fronts court over buying stolen supermarket goods

A Springvale mum attempted to bribe two police officers after she was busted with wads of cash and nearly $115k of stolen supermarket groceries supplied to her by a recidivist shoplifter.

A private investigation by Coles into shoplifting at its supermarket led investigators to a homeless man who supplied stolen groceries to Springvale mum Thi Vo.

A chronic gambler who sold groceries stolen by a homeless man from a major supermarket to pay off her punting debts tried to bribe police during her arrest

Police discovered nearly $115,000 worth of stolen groceries at a Springvale house Thi Vo lived in, as well as 233 grams of heroin, on October 20, 2022.

The 48-year-old mum was sentenced in the County Court on April 17 to at least three years and six months jail on charges of knowingly dealing with proceeds of crime and offering a bribe to a police officer.

Her arrest was preceded by 23 days of surveillance by two private investigators on a recidivist shoplifter at Coles who supplied the stolen goods to Vo.

In July 2022, Coles hired Pinkerton Investigations following large thefts from its supermarkets with covert surveillance carried out on a homeless man who was a recidivist thief.

Thi Vo sold stolen items supplied to her by a recidivist Coles shoplifter to pay off her gambling debts.

Two private investigators observed Vo meeting the thief and others at various locations in Melbourne’s southeastern suburbs and exchanging goods, including full Coles’ shopping bags.

On October 20, 2022 two police officers stopped Vo on Balmoral Ave in Springvale and recovered $81,422 in cash. She told the officers while being taken away in a police car “The money that you found in the car, you can have it if you let me go. You can drop me around the corner.”

On the same day, police found a large number of stolen items at Vo’s parents’ home in Springvale, including health and beauty products, clothing and household items worth $113,340.

Coles hired Pinkerton Investigations following large thefts from its supermarkets by recidivist offenders and covert surveillance was carried out on a homeless man who was a recidivist thief.

Vo told police that she bought items from the homeless man for between $100 and $200 for each bag which she sold around Springvale to pay off gambling debts. She denied knowing they were stolen goods.

Judge Douglas Trapnell said Vo became a problem gambler about 15 years ago as a result of marital problems and owed about $100,000 to loan sharks at the time of her arrest.

While on bail, she occasionally gambled in the hope she’d win enough money to pay off her debts.

Her total sentence was five years and eight months.