Police have arrested two burglars in Whangärei thanks to the assistance from members of the public.
About 4.20pm yesterday three offenders broke into a house in Maunu and stole several items including electronic gear and alcohol. A neighbour saw the car being used by the offenders and called police immediately.
Police searched the area, but couldn't locate the car. Several hours later a police patrol saw the wanted car and stopped it on Dent Street.
They searched the car and found items that had been stolen from the Maunu address.
After speaking with the driver Police conducted further inquiries and searched four addresses around Whangärei. As a result of the searches Police found more stolen property at three of the addresses.
The male driver aged 44 years, who was stopped on Dent Street, was arrested for receiving stolen property.
Two people, a 26-year-old woman and 22-year-old man, were located at two of the addresses and charged with burglary. They will appear in the Whangärei District Court tomorrow.
Police are now looking for the third offender who was involved in the burglary.
Whangärei/Kaipara Area Commander Inspector Justin Rogers says the vigilance of a neighbour who went to the trouble of getting details of the vehicle as it left the scene helped police to locate the burglars.
Mr Rogers says prior to the Maunu burglary a resident on Cemetery Road had confronted the burglars as she thought they were acting suspiciously. She called police and gave some good detail on the people in the car.
"The neighbour of the house that was burgled took photographs of the vehicle including its registration number plate and the resident on Cemetery Road gave police some very good details of the car and offenders, which meant we had some good information to work with. Both people called police immediately.
We always encourage people to report suspicious activity and give us as much detail as possible and in this is a great example of where this has paid off."
Mr Rogers says police staff also did a very good job by acting with urgency in gaining as much information as possible to locate offenders involved plus the stolen property.
"The photograph of the wanted car was sent to the mobility devices of staff on duty and as a result one officer recognised the car when he was on his way to another incident.
Within eight hours of the burglary occurring we had most of the offenders and had returned the stolen items to the victim who was very happy to get his property back."
For media inquiries contact Northland Police Communications Manager Sarah Kennett on 09 945 4650 or 021 192 1099.