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Counties Manukau Police say they’ve located a plethora of stolen items after executing a search warrant last week.
Officers were looking for a stolen bike at an address in Buckland Road, Māngere East, police say, when they instead located a pile of tools that didn’t belong there.
Sergeant Ben Guptill, of Counties Manukau West Police’s tactical crime unit, says while executing the search warrant, officers found the alleged offender had arrived at the address shortly before police and unloaded the tools from a car.
“Among the property was also an electric motorcycle, which upon inspection of the serial number had been stolen in a burglary in Papatoetoe a week prior.
“The bike was returned to the rightful owner and needless to say they were ecstatic at having the bike returned.”
Guptill says the man at the Māngere East residence was taken into custody and officers set about making enquiries into the owners of the other stolen goods.
“We were able to identify three victims and return their property to them.
“One was a nail gun that had been stolen from a vehicle in 2021 – he was absolutely stoked to have it back after four years.
“This is a great example of the importance of people marking/engraving their tools, as this is the only way we were able to track them down and return their property.”
Guptill says burglary is a serious offence and brings with it a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment.
“We have zero tolerance for this type of offending and will continue to hold those responsible to account.”
A 49-year-old man has been remanded in custody and is due to appear in the Manukau District Court on August 1 charged with burglary, unlawfully taking a motor vehicle, and breach of a court release condition.
Guptill says there are a number of preventative measures people can take to avoid theft from occurring:
- Ensure vehicles are locked and don’t leave valuables in plain sight.
- If you need to park on the street, park in a well-lit area and near CCTV cameras if you have them.
- If possible, have an alarm system in your vehicle/house and tinted windows to deter opportunistic offenders.
- Engrave tools with driver licence numbers. That way, if police find your tools, there’s a better chance of them getting them back to you.
- Keep a record of serial numbers.
- If working on a construction site, be vigilant and report any suspicious activity to police.
- If you can’t take your tools home, lock them up in a shed on site.
- Second-hand dealers and the public should be wary of tools being offered to them at a price that’s too good to be true.
Anyone who sees suspicious activity around vehicles can call police on 111 if they are witnessing the activity, or 105 after the matter.
