NAMED: Accused $30,000 Parfumerie Enchanté perfume thief allegedly caught in Cairns driving stolen car

The manhunt for a brazen perfume and jewellery thief has ended after a man was allegedly caught driving a stolen car in Cairns. Here’s what we know.

Stripped shelves at Parfumerie Enchante after a robbery that took nearly $30,000 in stock.

A man charged with stealing nearly $30,000 in perfume and jewellery from a Townsville shop has allegedly been located driving a stolen vehicle in Cairns.

Cameron Welch, 32, was charged by police in relation to a break-in of high end perfume shop Parfumerie Enchanté in Pimlico last week.

Police will allege the North Ward man forced entry through a store’s door and stole a large amount of perfume and jewellery overnight on May 26.

On June 4, Cairns police observed a Toyota Yaris that had been reported stolen from nearby suburb, Manunda.

The Yaris was allegedly bearing false plates and sped away from police.

The stolen Yaris was located an hour later in Westcourt, and a man was taken into custody.

It will be alleged the Toyota Yaris was rented on May 21 and the vehicle was never returned.

Mr Welch appeared in Cairns Magistrate Court on Thursday, June 5, charged with enter premises and commit indictable offence, unlawful use of a motor vehicle, and failure to appear.

The damaged front door of Parfumerie Enchante. The store owner said some of the stolen perfume bottles were imported direct from France and cost over $500 each.

Mr Welch did not appear in person when the matter was mentioned, but was represented by duty lawyer David Harmsa who said Welch was on a ‘return to prison’ warrant.

Mr Harmsa sought a four to six week adjournment for the case, and said Legal Aid will have carriage of the matter.

Acting magistrate Gelma Meoli adjourned the matter to July 17, appearances excused.

No pleas have been entered.

The huge theft from Parfumerie Enchante in May devastated the owner, Rachel Hobson, who’d only opened the store a month before the robbery.

CCTV footage captured someone breaking through the front door and filling a bag with expensive, high-end perfumes around 1am, May 27.

Ms Hobson was alerted to the robbery at 8.30am when staff at a neighbouring tattoo shop saw her shop’s front door had been smashed in.

After a whirlwind of contacting police, doing a stocktake, and checking CCTV footage, Ms Hobson said there appeared to be a clear suspect.

“They actually made the girl working feel frightened,” Ms Hobson said of the suspect.

“I made note of them because of that.”

During the 1am robbery, whoever broke into the store was careful to not look up at where the cameras were located, Ms Hobson said, and in their rush to fill a large bag up with $498 and $568 perfume bottles, the person left their hat behind.

Originally published as NAMED: Accused $30,000 Parfumerie Enchanté perfume thief allegedly caught in Cairns driving stolen car