An employee’s dishonest act to help himself to a box of whiskey he was supposed to deliver to Dubbo has come unstuck - after GPS tracking was deployed.
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Brett Allan Hampstead of Kings Park in western Sydney pleaded guilty to embezzlement by a clerk or servant.
The 52-year-old was trusted to transport pallets of alcohol but 12 bottles of Jack Daniel’s black label did not make it to their destination, Dubbo Local Court documents show.
Unbeknown to Hampstead the business that had contracted the job had organised for a mobile phone with GPS tracking to accompany the liquor.
The business acted after seven boxes, each containing a dozen one-litre bottles of the whiskey, had gone missing in recent months, court documents show.
Each box was worth $500.
Hampstead picked up the trailer containing the alcohol on the night of September 26 from a Sydney depot and began the trip.
The mobile phone was tracked to Dubbo at which time the trailer and pallet of alcohol was dropped off, but without the box of Jack Daniel’s.
Hampstead left the Dubbo depot, with the mobile GPS on board still tracking the journey.
A couple hours later along the way he was stopped by police who searched the truck.
Officers found two bottles of the whiskey in a cooler bag
Another four bottles were discovered in the accused’s bag, wrapped individually in clothing.
The remaining six bottles were not located.
When questioned, Hampstead said he had located the bottles and had separated them to ensure they would not break and was going to return them to the Dubbo depot.
Hampstead had been unable to travel to Dubbo on Wednesday, the court heard as the plea of guilty to embezzling the 12 bottles was entered on his behalf.
He will face Blacktown Local Court for sentencing next month.
