Thieves raid RSL before Anzac Day
Heartless looters target booze and poppies
HEARTLESS thieves have struck a North Queensland RSL club, stealing hundreds of dollars worth of alcohol, days before Anzac Day commemorations.
Thieves broke into the Charters Towers RSL Club through a window to the function room and once inside proceeded to take their time going through every room in the property.
A staff member who discovered the break-in said she walked into the building on Monday just before 12.30pm and did not initially notice signs of the break-in, other than an empty 10-pack red rum carton on the bar.
She said at first she thought someone had stocked a fridge, but then she rounded the corner and saw dozens of crocheted poppies on the floor and trashed in the rubbish bin.
“Then I saw the empty cartons on the bench, and there are chips on the floor in the function room,” she said.
“There are UDL tins missing and cartons of beer missing. Thankfully we haven’t received our order for Anzac Day yet.” She is hopeful that CCTV footage and fingerprints left behind will help identify the thieves.
Charters Towers RSL sub branch president Andrew Jensen said it was a disgrace.
“It’s bulls---. They’ve pinched the poppies we had lined up for Anzac Day, they’ve gone in there and taken quantities of alcohol,” Mr Jensen said. “Christ, we don’t need that. This is the second time they’ve done it (in the past year) and we just don’t need that.”
The thieves took a torch from the Mother’s Day raffle and searched the property from top to bottom, through coldrooms, the kitchen and any room they could gain access to. They even tipped a tin of cigarette butts out on to the ground near the smoking area, taking the ‘dumpers’ with them. Dumpers are unfinished cigarettes.
Mr Jensen said he had been at the club with some other volunteers until 6pm on Sunday cleaning things up for this Sunday’s Anzac Day commemorations.
He said the break-in happened some time after that.
“Last year when we were broken into it cost us a couple of thousand dollars,” Mr Jensen said.
Anyone who thinks they may have noticed someone in the area of the club between 6pm on Sunday, April 18 and 12.30pm on Monday, April 19, is asked to contact Policelink with the information.