A Sunbury man who avoided almost 300 CityLink tolls by using fake number-plates has been nabbed by police.
The 42-year-old man was arrested on Thursday afternoon after a month-long investigation.
Police said he had been dodging tolls since the start of the year, avoiding 290 trip fees.
Senior Constable Chris McCran said police were able to find the man despite the false plates.
“People think if they use false plates or cover up their rego numbers … they won’t get caught,” Senior Constable McCran said.
“That’s not the case; there are a number of other ways we can detect drivers trying to defraud the system.”
The man has been charged with obtaining financial advantage by deception, using false number- plates, unlicensed driving, driving an unregistered motor vehicle and unregistered trailer, and theft
of diesel.
He has been bailed to appear at the Melbourne Magistrates Court in August.
Budget papers last month showed that the state’s motorists are fined an average of $420,000 a day for evading tolls.
Fines for dodging tolls have jumped almost 40 per cent since 2010 and are expected to reach $153 million in 2015-16.
