Police put a stop to trio’s alleged crime spree on Northland businesses

An alleged crime spree ends with a trio facing dozens of charges.

Three people have been nabbed by police in Tūtūkākā over an alleged crime spree of several aggravated robberies and burglaries in recent weeks.

A range of charges have been now laid against the trio of males aged from 16-19 for their string of offending against Northland businesses.

They are allegedly held responsible for the aggravated robbery incidents at a Paihia tavern and Tikipunga Dairy on August 27 and September 3 respectively.

The trio reportedly were also involved in burglaries at two retail stores in Whangārei on August 20 and Kerikeri on September 5.

Whangārei and Kaipara area commander Maria Nordstrom said on Thursday afternoon that the presence of a convoy of vehicles caught their attention.

“Two stolen vehicles were travelling through Ngunguru and our staff attempted to signal these vehicles to stop, one vehicle stopped with the other attempting to evade police,” Nordstrom said.

The offenders were not able to go far and were all taken into custody.

She acknowledges the Tūtūkākā locals for their assistance and for their quick help in locating where the perpetrators had headed.

“Police have been investigating a range of dishonesty and violent offences that have taken place in our district in recent weeks.

“We have now reached a point in this investigation where we have charged them for 18 separate offences,” the inspector said.

While further charges could not be ruled out, police would continue to take a dim view of the brazen and often violent offending being inflicted on the community.

The offenders will now appear before the Whangārei District and Youth Courts.