Police and community combine to recover stolen Buddha head

The stolen Buddha head statue in the safe hands of Kāpiti PST 5.

A stolen Buddha head has been reunited with its owner thanks to the efforts of a local police section and members of the public.

It all started when two men drove up to a residential property in Waikanae, got out of the vehicle and entered the front garden.

The homeowner, who was inside at the time, reported seeing the men walking into the garden, lifting the 40kg statue and then putting it into the back seat of their car before driving off.

PST 5 Acting Sergeant Andy Morrell said the victim called police and his section responded quickly.

“Unfortunately, when we got to the scene, we could not locate the vehicle the offenders were driving, but the victim had taken some photos, which was very helpful.

“After the victim shared some images on their local community Facebook page, we received reports about a vehicle similar to the offenders’ one in Paraparaumu.”

That same shift, PST 5 officers found the vehicle and, a short distance away, found the two suspects who had decided to celebrate at a Paraparaumu pub.

“A search of the vehicle did not locate the missing statue and when asked, the offenders would only say they knew where it was, but would not give up the details of its location.”

The two men, both of Kāpiti, were arrested and charged with burglary.

Some time in the early hours of the following shift, the statue was found outside the front door of Kāpiti Police Station by the officers who had carried out the arrest.

They then carefully delivered it back to the delighted and surprised victim.

“The victim was very happy to have their statue back.

“They were also pleased at how quickly the investigation went from locating the offenders to having the sculpture returned.

“It was within a 32-hour period, and it was awesome that our section dealt with the matter from start to finish.”