It's been an afternoon of better work stories for North Shore Police, after two separate incidents within a short space of each other resulted in three people being arrested.
Just before 1.30pm this afternoon Police received a call from a member of the public about a suspicious car in Hillcrest on the North Shore.
The Subaru Impreza was parked outside a scrap metal dealers and had two different registration plates attached to it.
A number of Police units were immediately sent into the area and the car was stopped in Parity Place. Checks of the vehicle revealed it was stolen yesterday from an address in New Lynn.
Officers used their Police mobility devices (Ipads and Iphones) to make enquiries at the scene about the driver and discovered that there was a warrant for the man's arrest.
The two men in the car were both arrested. The 37 year-old driver has been charged with unlawfully getting into a motor vehicle and driving whilst forbidden. The passenger has been charged with unlawfully getting into a motor vehicle. Both men will appear in the North Shore District Court tomorrow.
At the same time and only 400 metres away, a Police officer who was returning from an unrelated enquiry was driving down Archers Road when he saw a man on a motorbike that appeared to have broken down.
He recognised the driver as being a 45 year-old man who been actively evading Police, had warrants to arrest for burglary and stealing cars and was wanted to interview on a number of other matters. The man managed to restart his motorbike and was about to flee when the officer managed to detain him and called for back-up.
A number of other Police units arrived and the man was arrested at the scene.
The 45 year-old will face numerous charges related to burglary, car theft and other offending alleged to have occurred across Auckland. He will appear in the North Shore District Court tomorrow.
"This has been a fantastic afternoon for not only us but also the public. We'll be charging the man on the motorbike with a number of offences, many of which are burglaries" says Inspector Sunny Patel, Acting Area Commander, North Shore Police.
"I'm really proud of the great team work by officers from North Shore Police. The fact that we managed to catch another two people just around the corner at the same time for dishonesty offending is fantastic and we're so thankful to the person who phoned us to say that there was a car with numberplates that didn't match" says Inspector Patel.
"The community can feel safer that these three individuals, particularly the man on the motorbike have been arrested, and I'm sure anyone who has ever been the victim of a burglary will share our delight that we'll now be putting him before the courts" he says.
ENDS
Media - Inspector Sunny Patel is available for interviews. Please call Beth Bates to arrange.
Beth Bates/Waitemata Police