Tūrangi Police warn locals after vehicles targeted

Winter driving conditions on the Desert Road south of Tūrangi. Photo / File

Kia ora koutou. Well, after a great crime-free first week of the school holidays, our dream run came to an end last Thursday with a spate of vehicle break-ins in town.

Three vehicles were broken into and one of them had objects, including a handbag and wallet, taken from them. A fourth vehicle, which contained climbing gear and sports equipment, was stolen. It was then linked to two vehicle break-ins in Taupō.

We are investigating these and have interviewed a local teenager who is known to police. A few more people are yet to be spoken to and enquiries are ongoing. The stolen car has since been recovered along with some of the gear that was in it.

In addition, a local holiday home and a garden shed were also reported burgled over the last week. The thieves stole a chainsaw, dropsaw and water blaster from the holiday home.

In the light of these can I remind you all not to leave valuables in your vehicles, especially overnight. Lock them and park them off the street if you can. If you see anything that looks suspicious or somebody out of place, call 111 immediately so we can come and check it out.

Sergeant Te Reipa Morunga, Tūrangi Police. Photo / File

Aside from these incidents, I can report that town was still busy last week which was good to see and from our point of view the roads in the area were good. We only had one callout, to an accident on the Desert Rd near the Oturere Stream bend (known as the third sister), where a car driving too fast for the wet conditions had slid off the road. Thankfully, nobody was injured.

Kia pai tō wiki, Te Reipa.