Four people have been charged after an “Aladdin’s cave” by a police investigation into a string of burglaries in the Auckland CBD over the past month.
Police this morning carried out searches of two apartments inside a Hobson St complex as part of Operation Rocket, a police investigation into a series of burglaries at apartments and businesses in the city.
“Our teams came across an Aladdin’s cave of stolen property and it’s going to take some time to work through where everything has come from,” Auckland central area commander Inspector Grant Tetzlaff said.
Among the 80 stolen items recovered were “13 electric scooters, an assortment of power tools, and other electronic valuables”.
Some of the power tools were linked to a North Shore burglary in 2019.
Four people – two men aged 28 and 36, and two women aged 35 and 41– were arrested at the apartments and charged.
“Charges laid at this point relate to two burglaries at a Wellesley St business, and a Union St apartment last month,” Tetzlaff said.
A 28-year-old man has been charged with two counts of burglary, and the aggravated robbery of an e-scooter in January.
A 41-year-old woman faces two charges of burglary.
A 36-year-old man and a 35-year-old woman have been charged with receiving stolen property.
In addition, a 47-year-old woman at one of the two properties was charged after being found in possession of methamphetamine.
“The team working on Operation Rocket are continuing with their enquiries and further charges cannot be ruled out at this stage,” Tetzlaff said.
“Burglary is a serious offence and brings with it a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment.
“It’s a fantastic outcome as our team continue to work hard in holding this offending to account.”
Those charged are now before the Auckland District Court.
