Staff members at a recycling centre in Perth's southern suburbs have been charged after about $40,000 in cash was discovered among items on a conveyor belt.
Police said they were called to the centre after receiving a tip-off that about $1 million had been located among the recycling material, in the form of 50 and 100 dollar bills that had appeared on one of the centre's conveyor belts.
But police say an investigation established the actual quantity of money was far less.
Police were told that staff had been encouraged to remain quiet about the discovery.
While the origin of the cash was yet to be established, police alleged three staff members pocketed some of it.
After several search warrants were executed, the trio was charged by summons with possession of stolen or unlawfully obtained cash and was to appear in court at a later date.
Those charged are a 53-year-old woman from Balga, who is a supervisor at the centre, as well as a 24-year-old Greenmount man and a 22-year-old man from Nollamara.
Police believe the majority of the cash allegedly taken by the staff has been recovered.
