An Aussie small business operator will take further action after two young women were allegedly captured on CCTV stealing from her market stall.
Duverah owner Jess Adelman was selling handmade jewellery at the local Eumundi Markets on Queensland's Sunshine Coast on Wednesday when she noticed the pair acting suspiciously near her stall.
She claimed that the women told her that they were from Melbourne and spent 20 minutes at her stall expressing interest in purchasing some of her wares but then walked away without buying anything.
After the pair left, Ms Adelman noticed that six rings worth between $350 and $400 were missing.
She obtained the CCTV, which showed one woman trying on several rings and distracting Ms Adelman, while her friend behind her appeared to slip several pieces of jewellery in her bag while cautiously glancing around to ensure no one was watching.
Ms Adelman claimed the women also allegedly stole from other market stall holders on the day and that they later admitted to stealing two rings when confronted by security in the car park.
Ms Adelman has since shared the CCTV online as a warning to other small business operators and for TikTok and Instagram to 'do their thing'. Daily Mail has chosen not to identify the women pictured in the footage.
She will also report the incident to police next week.
Two women were accused of stealing for stall holders at the Eumundi Markets on Wednesday
CCTV showed one woman (circled) distracting Jess and trying on rings while her friend allegedly slipped multiple rings into her bag
Duverah owner Jess Adelman (pictured) vowed to take further action after six rings were allegedly stolen from her stall
'I was just waiting to get their names, (but) I'm not sure I feel comfortable sharing their names as I don't want them to get bullied,' Ms Adelman told the Daily Mail.
'They definitely knew what they were doing though!'
She claimed that a second market stall holder was tricked by the same alleged tactics.
'With another candle lady, one was distracting her while the other was stealing,' Ms Adelman said.
'They bought one small item but asked for two bags and the lady serving them was too busy to watch them and had a bad feeling as they went to the other side of the stall when she was serving other people.
'The security then followed them and saw them distract someone while the other was about to put something in her bag, and then said, 'you didn't pay for that', and they ran off.
'I reckon they'd definitely done it before and went on a little spree!'
Ms Adelman feared that the value of handmade goods allegedly stolen on the day by the pair racked up into the thousands.
One woman (circled) was captured at Jess' stall appearing to slip several jewellery items in her bag while cautiously glancing around to ensure no one was watching.
The Duverah founder will report the alleged theft to police
'The amount that they would have stolen, it's undeniable, they would've stolen so much because there were literal gaps everywhere,' she claimed in an online video.
Since sharing the CCTV online, she has since been inundated with messages from other small vendors who stopped selling at markets for the same reason.
'These sellers had become convinced that there was no way to stop petty theft in these environments and because of that it was simply easier to skip them,' Ms Adelman said.
Founded by Ms Adelman in 2022, Duverah sells high-end jewellery, handmade with precious/semi-precious stones at affordable prices online and at local markets, according to its website.
