KEY POINTS:
Thieves with stolen garage door remote controls are thought to be behind a spate of garage burglaries in Rotorua.
Remotes stolen from two vehicles in the suburb of Owhata are suspected by police to have been used to open at least seven garage doors.
He said the burglaries occurred during the day when people were at work and the garages raided had no signs of forced entry - "which is why we think they may be using the door openers to get in" Sergeant John Cassidy, of the Rotorua police intelligence section, said.
The burglars had also taken other garage door remotes they found in the homes they entered.
He said that when an automatic garage door was installed the remote was set to a generic code.
"A lot of the newer models have a factory setting and if people don't realise, they won't change the code," he told the Daily Post.
Mr Cassidy said people should make sure they have given their remote a unique code so it only works on their garage door.
- NZPA
