An eagle-eyed neighbour in Orakei has helped stop an alleged criminal in his tracks during the long weekend.
A local resident came home to find an unwanted guest allegedly snooping around his property on Saturday evening.
Auckland East Response Manager, Senior Sergeant Megan Dalton, says the victim called Police after observing the male acting suspiciously and then walking down the driveway to the roadside and prying open a nearby letterbox.
“The man was observed allegedly removing mail from a letterbox, opening the mail and removing items from within the envelope, then disposing of the envelope in a nearby rubbish bin,” Senior Sergeant Dalton says.
“Police arrived at the scene quickly and located the offender across the road from the victim’s address where he was taken into custody.
“A subsequent search of the man located approximately 20 personalised letters and nine credit cards in his pockets.”
Senior Sergeant Dalton says Police cannot prevent crime alone and rely on the help of the community to stop this type of illegal activity.
“This is a great example of if you see something, say something. We need the public to report any suspicious activity so we can conduct enquiries and hold offenders to account.
“If you see suspicious behaviour and it is happening now please contact Police on 111 or if it is after the fact, contact Police on 105 or online at https://www.police.govt.nz/use-105.”
A 38-year-old man has been charged with unlawfully being in an enclosed yard and theft and will appear in the Auckland District Court on 27 October.
ENDS.
Holly McKay/NZ Police