Police have reunited a German tourist with his stolen belongings as he waited at Auckland Airport for his flight out of New Zealand.
The man’s rental car was broken into earlier this week on Crummer Rd in Grey Lynn, Auckland Central area commander Inspector Grae Anderson said.
“His backpack was taken, which contained various valuable electronics, his passport, and German bank cards,” he said.
The man reported the theft on November 19.
Police found he had an Apple AirTag with his property, and enquiries led to an address in Wiri.
A search of the address recovered almost all of the tourist’s property, as well as a large amount of “unrelated” cash and ammunition.
Police then found the tourist’s backpack in a skip bin at a nearby Manukau service station, as well as other suitcases and travel bags which they were working to reunite with their rightful owners.
The recovered property was given back to the grateful man by police as he waited for his flight out of New Zealand.
“We are pleased to be able to get his belongings back before he left the country,” Anderson said.
“He might have had a bad experience but being able to put that right is pleasing for our staff and I am proud of the combined effort it took to get his property returned.”
A 41-year-old man appeared in the Auckland District Court on November 20 on charges of theft-ex car and unlawfully possessing ammunition.
He was remanded in custody to reappear on December 11.
