16 February 2009
The urge to feed an alleged drug habit appears to be the catalyst for a man stealing at least 25 cars from around the Central North Island.
Detective Sergeant Carl Moon of the Hamilton Law Enforcement Team said the sole Highway Patrol officer probably had no idea how significant a routine vehicle stop she carried out on SH2 last week would turn out to be.
"She saw a suspicious looking Subaru and pulled it over. It turned out the car had been stolen from the Westfield shopping centre in Chartwell four days earlier and had number plates on it belonging to a car stolen from Rotorua.
"Arrested, the 28-year-old male driver was remanded in custody and an investigation was launched into just what he had been up to began. So far we've been able to link him to the theft of 25 cars and reports are still coming in," said Mr Moon.
The man told Police he had been stealing cars to fund a methamphetamine habit and had travelled far and wide in his efforts.
"Through various means we've managed to track his offending from the Waikato, Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Taranaki and Manawatu and our inquiries are continuing.
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