KEY POINTS:
Three conmen roof painters who were ripping off elderly householders in the North Island have fled to Australia, police believe.
Police began investigating the men last month after Cambridge man Kenneth Allan, 85, died in a car crash just days after being duped by the trio.
Detective Scott McDougall said police had tracked the group's movements and now believe they had returned to Australia.
He identified the men as Hamilton Gervaise, his brother Alexander Gervaise and Robert Balfour.
Mr McDougall said the three flew into New Zealand from Sydney on November 11 and immediately bought three old vans in Auckland.
They then travelled from Manurewa to Huntly, Cambridge and Rotorua where they dumped one van, gave one away and put one in secure storage.
The men then flew from Rotorua to Christchurch and then on to Sydney. Police believe the men had approached a number of elderly people in several towns offering to paint their roofs.
They were charging up to $5000.
Mr McDougall said the men were known to Australian police for similar offending.
It was unlikely they would be extradited to New Zealand if they were found in Australia.
"There is little we can do at this stage. They have been flagged for a border alert and we are in regular contact with Australian police," he said.
- NZPA
