Exclusive: How an Auckland pilot tracked down a bungling burglar - and got a confession

Laurence Pope at the scene of the crime. Photo / Alex Burton

Auckland pilot and businessman Laurence Pope was fast asleep when a burglar crept into his Viaduct apartment.

The thief slunk out with a backpack - among its contents Pope's pilot licence, airport access cards, MacBook, two pairs of Prada sunglasses, Tesla car key and credit cards.

Worst of all, the young man also took a $12,000 Rolex Daytona watch, carrying significant sentimental value.

It was not the first time Pope has fallen victim to thieves and he knows well that property crime can be low on the list for Auckland's overworked and under-resourced police.

But Pope is having the last laugh.

"I thought, 'I'm going to get this little p***k," Pope said.

His sleuthing managed to track down the man responsible - and elicit a confession from the bungling burglar.

However, police have cautioned people against launching their own criminal investigations and warned admissions they gain via social media may not be admissible in a court of law.

Pope passed his information to police - "handed it to them on a platter", he said.

A few days later officers executed a search warrant at a storage locker and recovered a trove of stolen goods.

The saga begins with a door inadvertently left unlocked at Pope's downtown apartment located within a hotel in Auckland's swanky Viaduct Harbour.

It is not known how or why the man got himself into the hotel past reception and up the lift.

He crept into the apartment, grabbed the bag and shot off into the night, all without waking Pope.

The burglar, whom the Herald has chosen not to name for legal reasons, quickly embarked on a spending spree across Auckland at everywhere from a suburban Rebel Sport to a North Shore petrol station to local cabs.

Thieves typically start spending with stolen cards immediately, given they can be cancelled immediately from an app when the victim realises they've been had.

It was that spending spree that would lead Pope to the burglar.

When he realised his belongings had been pilfered, he went onto his internet banking and saw the various retail outlets the burglar had been visiting.

Pope then rang the shops and managed to convince several to hand over CCTV footage from the times correlating with the illicit payments.

He quickly had several positive IDs on the burglar including high-definition shots from a Shortland St mini mart that had just invested in high-end surveillance gear.

Pope used the images to put together wanted posters and he was soon being contacted by people who were all providing the same name.

Laurence Pope created wanted posters from CCTV footage he obtained from a store in downtown Auckland visited by the man who burgled his apartment. Photo / Supplied

Several had also been ripped off by the young man.

"This guy's just a walking crime wave," Pope said.

Pope reported the incident to police. A scene-of-the-crime forensic officer promptly attended his apartment and was thorough and professional, he said.

However, he was under no illusions that his burglary would be top of the pile for city detectives slammed with more serious offending and an ongoing spate of ram raids.

He found several social media profiles used by the man and managed to get him into a conversation.

It did not take much prompting for the man to begin to come clean. Photo / Supplied

Pope offered the man the chance to resolve the situation amicably with the return of his gear.

"More than happy to give it back," came the reply.

"I actually found your bag. But yeah I did the wrong thing by temptation and spent, for that I am sorry."

Pope did not buy that he had simply found his bag, but continued the conversation.

The man had claimed to be in Whangārei heading back to Auckland and offered to meet and "give you what is yours" on one condition: no cops.

He refused to engage on the phone.

"Sorry. I'm coming hack [sic] to Auckland, if you want your stuff I'll meet you and give it back, on condition of no setups with cops," he said.

The conversation continued but a promised meeting failed to eventuate. Photo / Supplied

Further claims of a lack of prepay credit and "massive phobias" of phone calls followed.

He did not turn up to a planned meeting.

Then, on Thursday morning, Pope received a call to say police had executed a series of search warrants including one on a storage locker.

The trove of loot in the locker included his backpack - but not the contents or the watch.

"It's kind of a symbolic victory," he said.

He believes officers can't be far away from catching up with the burglar, who is understood to bounce around between Auckland and other cities.

Pope said he has previously had to track down stolen gear himself, including vehicles which he tracked to addresses using GPS.

While he appreciates the efforts police have made, he is frustrated they sometimes lack the time or resourcing required to fully investigate some property crimes.

"The only reason something's happening here is because I've rattled some cages," he said.

"Every single time, I've had to do the donkey work."

A police spokeswoman confirmed Auckland City's Tactical Crime Unit continues to actively investigate the case and executed a search warrant resulting in the recovery of some stolen property.

"Although an arrest has not yet been made, inquiries are continuing."

The spokeswoman cautioned against people taking the role of detective.

"Generally speaking, private inquiries made through social media platforms, may have the potential to compromise police investigations.

"This could occur through disposal of evidence and interference with witnesses. Police advise victims to liaise with the officer assigned to their case before putting potential evidence into the public arena via social media.

"While we appreciate it can be frustrating for victims of a crime to wait for an investigation to conclude, police strongly discourages people from taking matters into their own hands. This places them at greater risk of harm."

The spokeswoman said information about stolen property should be handed to police.

"There is a likelihood that admissions made via messaging platforms will not be admissible in court as they may be difficult to attribute to an individual to the required evidential standard."