Some of the hundreds of bikes recovered. Photo / NZ Police
Was your property nicked in Wellington last year?
Police operation Trump Card last year shut down a major theft and burglary ring in Wellington and ended up with warehouses full of stolen property – over 5000 items including bikes, tools, hardware and appliances.
To date 12 people have been charged and are before the courts on burglary, receiving and theft charges. Further arrests are expected.
Wellington CIB Detective Senior Sergeant Tim Leitch says a team of officers have been working through the seized items to reconcile them with property reported stolen across Wellington over the past three years.
“This has been a significant undertaking and good progress is being made.”
So far 93 of the 298 bikes, 10 of 29 e-scooters and 11 of 49 laptops have been identified and will be returned to owners or insurance companies.
More information needed
“We continue to work through the seized items to return as many as possible to the rightful owners, Leitch says.
“The process is taking time due to the sheer number of items seized and the need to clearly identify property before it can be returned.
But he says in many cases only limited property details were provided at the time of the initial reporting.
“We ask the owners of stolen property, particularly if it is unique or has an identifiable feature, marking, or a known serial number to contact police and provide this additional information.”
A large number of distinctive bikes, tools, builders’ equipment and other items are still to be identified, he says.
“Anyone that has property stolen that has not reported the theft, is encouraged to do so, and provide a description of their item.”
Reports and updates regarding identifying features can be made by filling out a 105 report online quoting Operation Trump