A Melbourne couple who bought a suitcase for a few dollars in a charity shop thought they'd hit the jackpot when they discovered up to $100,000 in the lining.
Rather than take it back to the Beaconsfield Salvation Army store so the cash could be returned to its rightful owner, the couple - a man aged 44 and a woman, 34 - allegedly kept the money and started putting it into different bank accounts.
The couple from Berwick, in Melbourne's southeast, were arrested on March 18 and have been charged with theft by finding, police said.
Tens of thousands recovered
The drama began in early March when the wife of the suitcase's owner did a clean-up at their home and took the unloved case, along with bric a brac, to the local Salvo store.
Unbeknown to her, her husband had stuffed the suitcase's lining with money - tens of thousands of dollars.
The Salvation Army had hoped the money would be handed in after the second-hand suitcase was bought on March 6, but police used details from an Eftpos receipt to track the buyer.
A police spokeswoman described the money as a significant sum.
She said most it had been recovered to the great relief of the owner - and his wife.
