A customer walks into an op shop and purchases an overnight bag. At the register, an unsupervised store volunteer unzips the side pocket. Fifty thousand dollars in cash falls out. All in $100 bills.

The find sparks the ultimate in real-life integrity tests.

Illustration: Cathy Wilcox

After three months, police can conclude the money literally fell into the hands of one of the most honest shop assistants in Australia, but, at the same time, brought forth some of the most grasping charlatans to draw breath.

Sergeant Dan McNamara, a police officer for 27 years, said he had never seen a case like this before on the Sunshine Coast. Apart from the cash, the only other clues were the anonymous handwritten scrawls on scraps of paper found inside the bag.