A man was arrested in Auckland earlier this week after officers found a van full of stolen goods – before the robbed business even realised it had been hit.
Just after midnight on Tuesday, police were alerted to a Toyota Hiace travelling on Roscommon Rd in Manurewa with licence plates stolen from a Ford Transit.
Inspector Warrick Adkin said the Eagle helicopter was called, and the vehicle was found on Wordsworth Rd 15 minutes later.
The vehicle stopped with "no issues", and a search revealed a "large amount of equipment" inside.
“Staff suspected the items may have been stolen, so they were seized," Adkin said.
Later that morning, a business in nearby Papatoetoe reported a burglary.
Adkin said it appeared the alleged offender had cut a hole in the business's fence, broken into the yard, and made off with $5000 worth of equipment.
The equipment was returned to the business, and a 45-year-old charged with burglary. He was due to appear in the Manukau District Court on December 11.
“This is a great example of officers identifying a vehicle with false plates and being proactive to investigate further,” Adkin said.
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