Strike Force Trident and Dog Operations have worked tirelessly to secure the arrest of 15 people involved in separate property offences.
Yesterday, Patrol Dogs Drax and Daly trailed through heavy vegetation to track 6 offenders who allegedly stole a Toyota Hilux from Yarrawonga.
The vehicle was sighted by members of the public driving erratically through the city before ramming into another vehicle. The occupants abandoned the vehicle in Woolner and were spotted running into the Winnellie area.
Police CCTV operators monitoring the situation observed the group attempting to enter multiple businesses before stealing keys to a company car. The group attempted to ram through the front gate of the business but were unsuccessful.
When police arrived at the scene the offenders jumped a fence before running across the road into mangroves on Tiger Brennan Drive.
Patrol Dog Drax and his handler were deployed and tracked through thick mangroves into waist deep water before locating the offenders holding onto mangroves.
All offenders, aged between 14 and 16 were subsequently arrested and taken to Palmerston Watch House. They were later charged with multiple property offences.
In a separate incident, a further nine people, aged between 14 and 50, were arrested following an overnight spree involving multiple stolen vehicles.
It is alleged that 2 stolen Toyota Landcruisers were used in a ram-raid at a fuel station at Acacia Hills yesterday morning. One vehicle rammed through the front doors causing extensive damage before the offenders allegedly entered the building and stole thousands of dollars’ worth of goods.
The group then travelled to a commercial business in Winnellie and unlawfully entered the premise. While inside, the group stole another Toyota Landcruiser and rammed it into other vehicles in order to exit the premises. The inside of the premises sustained extensive damage.
The group then proceeded to steal a further 5 Landcruisers from across the Greater Darwin Region before police caught up with them.
Detectives received information that the group was in bushland near the Strauss Airstrip at Noonamah and a coordinated response involving Strike Force Trident, Dog Operations and Traffic members was implemented.
An outer cordon was established, with tyre deflation devices put in place.
Members followed a fresh dirt track into thick bushland where they located 2 of the stolen vehicles with 7 offenders sleeping inside. They were all subsequently arrested.
An operation to locate the remaining vehicles resulted in members travelling further down the Stuart Highway, where they found another 2 vehicles at Adelaide River, before they received information of a fuel drive off at Daly River.
Members travelled to Daly River and located 2 youths who had bogged the vehicle in soft mud. They were subsequently arrested before being taken back to Darwin.
Detective Senior Sergeant Mark Bland said “This is yet another fantastic example of different police units working together to bring justice for the community.
“In addition to the vehicles located, local police in Wadeye have also located another vehicle and investigations are continuing with more arrests expected soon.”
