Police dodge stolen parcels thrown from fleeing van

Police chasing a fleeing van in Auckland yesterday dodged a barrage of stolen parcels hurled out of the vehicle by thieves in a bid to put them off the pursuit.

The thieves allegedly took a courier van and drove it to another location to empty its contents into their own van shortly after 9am.

As they loaded a large box of parcels into their van in Glen Innes they were spotted by a plain clothes police unit. During the chase around the Panmure and Glen Innes shopping centres, the original patrol was joined by other ground patrols and the police Eagle helicopter. The pair began throwing parcels out of their van at their pursuers.

"The parcels were recovered by a member of the public and handed into police, while the offenders were apprehended as they attempted to flee on foot," said police Northern Communications shift commander Inspector Turepu Keenan.

- NZPA