Car thieves are using Trade Me as a catalogue for crime, tracking down owners of desirable vehicles from number plates.

Police say a customised 1967 Chevrolet Camaro - stolen while its owner watched an All Blacks game at the pub - is too "hot" to stay in New Zealand.

A man was doused in petrol but managed to crawl to safety as his hotel burned to the ground after a robbery this morning.

An arrest has been made in relation to the bomb threat that closed a major Christchurch road yesterday afternoon.

A masked, one-armed man carried the loot bag while his accomplice aimed a rifle and threw staff to the ground during an armed robbery.

Seven native forest geckos have been snatched from their enclosure at a Northland conservation park.

China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued an advisory on its website, warning its citizens about rising crime and theft in Auckland.

Police have named the woman killed when a stolen car crashed in Auckland on Friday.

One of the Waiouru war medal thieves is believed to have buried a treasure trove of cash built up over 20 years of crime on his parents' orchard.

The driver of a car that smashed into a house left behind dead and dying friends to escape with those he was racing against just seconds before.

At least one person fled the scene after a stolen car crashed into a house in Auckland last night, leaving one woman dead and two others injured.