Hawke’s Bay Police have arrested two youths, aged 14 and 15, in relation to several smash-and-grab burglaries in the Napier area over the past week.
A service station in Clive was burgled on 17 April, a retail premises in Napier was burgled on 19 April and a service station in Napier was burgled on 21 April.
One of the youths will appear in the Napier Youth Court on 25 May on a number of burglary-related charges.
The other is to appear in the Napier Youth Court on Thursday 27 April.
Police executed search warrants on 21 and 22 April, and a significant amount of stolen property was recovered. Enquiries also led to three stolen vehicles being located abandoned on separate streets.
Police are in the process of working through returning this property to its rightful owners.
Enquiries are ongoing into the three incidents, which are confirmed to be linked. Police are not ruling out further arrests or charges.
If you have any information which may assist with our enquiries, please contact Police on 105, either by calling or online at https://105.police.govt.nz/, using ‘Update Report’ and reference file number 230417/2874.
Separately, a 32-year-old is facing charges after the owner of a flood-damaged Eskdale property found a man in their house on 23 April. The homeowner was returning to salvage items and called Police immediately.
Police located a man a short time later and took him into custody. He has been charged with being unlawfully in a building, and resisting Police, and will reappear in the Napier District Court on 26 April. Further charges are pending.
Police hope these arrests provide some reassurance to the public and we would like to reiterate to the community that this type of offending will not be tolerated.
ENDS
Issued by the Police Media Centre