Constable Steven Stairmand grinds off a padlock. Photo / New Zealand Police
Constable Steven Stairmand grinds off a padlock. Photo / New Zealand Police
A huge stash of stolen goods, including scaffolding, dishwashers, fireworks and a 30,000 litre water tank, was so big it took up 12 shipping containers and multiple sheds.
The haul of stolen goods, uncovered this week, was thought to be the biggest in the history of the Waitemata Police District.
Rodney Police believed the loot was from dozens of burglaries carried out across the upper North Island.
Police search through one of the shipping containers. Photo / Police
Although a 43 year-old man has already been charged, police expect more arrests after the raid on the Dairy Flat Highway property two days ago.
Police said the stolen tank was hooked up to the house and half full of water.
Top-end power tools including generators, jackhammers, skillsaws, drills, water blasters were also found.
Power tools were among the stolen items found. Photo / Police
Apart from the dozen shipping containers, two horse floats and several outsheds on the property were filled with apparently stolen goods.
Police have been examining the haul at the property since Wednesday.
Police said a surge of construction site and rural burglaries had hit the Rodney area recently.
They said it would not be a surprise if the haul helped explain that spike in burglaries.
But they also said potentially dozens of burglaries in the wider North Island were the source of the merchandise.
Identifying who the gear belonged to would be a big job.
"We anticipate that this news will result in members of the public wanting to call us to check if it's items they've had stolen," said Senior Sergeant Andy King from Rodney Police.
"At this stage we're in the process of removing all the property into Police storage and then we'll be able to start work on identifying the rightful owners."
Each recovered item had to be meticulously checked to verify serial numbers and establish ownership.
Fireworks found. Photo / New Zealand Police
Police pledged to set up a phone number for the surge of calls expected from people.
They've asked people who might have been burgled recently to be patient in the meantime.
"We're committed towards finding the people responsible for this and I'm pleased to say that this development will take us quite some way in our search for the offenders," Mr King said.
