A South Auckland man’s alleged nighttime crime spree has come to an end after police caught him with a van full of stolen goods — including over 150 loaves of bread.
Beginning in early April, the 53-year-old is alleged to have committed a series of opportunistic thefts across South Auckland in the early morning hours.
Inspector Mohammed Atiq, Counties Manukau West Area Prevention Manager, says the man targeted a variety of locations, stealing items left outside or breaking into properties and vehicles.
The haul reportedly included large quantities of water, 20-litre cans of soybean oil, a wallet, a phone, and dozens of loaves of bread.
Ōtāhuhu’s Tactical Crime Unit connected several incidents to a single vehicle of interest. When officers spotted it on Roscommon Road in Manurewa, the driver tried to flee but eventually returned to a known address.
There, police found the stolen bread and its delivery crate still in the vehicle. The man was arrested at the scene and has since appeared in the Manukau District Court, where he was charged with burglary and remanded in custody until 25 June.
