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Police recover more than 40,000 stolen Bluey coins
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Police recover more than 40,000 stolen Bluey coins

Australian police say they have seized nearly 40,000 limited edition coins based on the popular children’s television show Bluey.

In July, 63,000 coins produced by the Australian Mint were reportedly stolen from a warehouse in Western Sydney, nearly two months before they were due to enter circulation.

Authorities seized 40,061 coins Tuesday following a raid on property about 6 miles (10 km) from the storage facility.

Earlier that day, 27-year-old Christina Vale was arrested and charged with breaking and entering and disposing of stolen property, police said. He became the third person arrested for alleged theft.

The coins, valued at AU$1 (US$0.65; 50 pence) per piece, were stolen two months before their planned release. New South Wales Police, It was previously selling online for 10 times its nominal value.

Shortly after the theft was reported, NSW Police launched a special investigation into the incident, codenamed Strike Force Bandit after Bluey’s father.

In August, they arrested Steven Nielsen, 44, who worked at the warehouse, and Nassar Kanj, 44, who they said acted as an accomplice in the alleged robbery.

Police will now claim in court that Ms Vale was the couple’s getaway driver.

The gold-coloured coins are known as Bluey dollarbucks, which is how the money is referred to in the cartoon, and feature images of characters from the series.

The popular series about the Heeler dog family is produced by Brisbane-based animation firm Ludo in association with BBC Studios and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Bluey has been a huge international success and is now broadcast in more than 60 countries, including the UK, US and China.

It was watched for more than 20 billion minutes on Disney+ in the U.S. last year, ranking among the country’s top 10 streaming programs for minutes watched.

There are more than 150 episodes of Bluey across three seasons, and a Bluey-themed “interactive experience” is opening in Brisbane next month.

The stolen coins are different from the collectible Bluey currency, which caused a frenzy when it was put up for sale by the Royal Australian Mint in June this year.