Cambridge Police have apprehended four alleged prolific dishonesty offenders following a search warrant and a quick tip from locals on Thursday, 30 May, last week.
Two of the offenders, women aged 46 and 48, are charged with Burglary and Receiving in relation to two commercial burglaries in Tïrau on Thursday 9 May.
At their Cambridge address, police executing a search warrant recovered stolen property believed to have been taken in one of the Tirau burglaries.
“Cambridge Police have been investigating this duo for some time but weren’t able to link them to offending committed in the Waikato,” says Senior Sergeant Ben Joll.
“We ended up looking beyond the Waikato and with the help of our colleagues in Taupo, Police we were able to connect them to the burglaries in Tirau, from there we have uncovered a raft of stolen property.”
Police recovered stolen property understood to be connected to a number of other burglaries in the Waikato and beyond our district.
The pair appear to have been targeting farm supply businesses and construction sites.
Among the items recovered was farm fencing, gates, electric fencing, a trailer, water tank, railway sleepers, jockey wheels and electrical tools.
“We now have a small team working through cataloguing all the stolen items to figure out what was taken from where,” says Cambridge Senior Sergeant Joll.
“Putting a stop to this offending is a great result for our community, businesses and particularly rural residents.”
One of the women has been remanded in custody and the other bailed to appear in the Hamilton District Court over the coming weeks with further charges likely.
The second pair of offenders, a man and a woman, were caught by Police shortly after a report of shoplifting at a local Cambridge store that same Thursday.
A report from a local shop owner said a man and woman had entered their store and allegedly stole $13,000 worth of goods, leaving the scene in a vehicle.
Police were conducting patrols in the area for the vehicle in when they saw the pair behaving suspiciously .
Follow up enquiries later identified the two people as those who had been in the store earlier.
“It just goes to show how important making those reports in real time can be in apprehending people offending in our community,” says Senior Sergeant Joll.
The 41-year-old man had a warrant to arrest, and the 33-year-old woman was required to arrest.
Both have been remanded in custody and are facing numerous shoplifting charges. They are due to reappear in Hamilton District Court later this month. “Making these arrests is an excellent result for community and retailers who suffer financially in this current economic climate” says Senior Sergeant Joll.
