A major operation which saw police saturate the Brimbank and Melton areas has led to the arrest of nearly 40 alleged burglars, car thieves and dangerous drivers, as well as the recovery of 14 stolen cars.
Among those arrested were three teenagers allegedly driving a stolen car, armed with jerry cans full of fuel, balaclavas and weapons on their way to ram a commercial premise and set it on fire.
It was just before 3am on Friday 28 November when police observed a white Ford Everest on Taylors Road with no headlights on, without registration plates on the front and with significant damage to the front of the car.
After attempting to intercept the car, it allegedly failed to stop, before police deployed a tyre deflation device.
Air Wing tracked the car to Woburn Close in Kealba where three occupants allegedly ran from the vehicle.
Air Wing assisted police units on the ground to quickly track down all three.
Checks of the car uncovered that it was stolen, and a search led to police locating the jerry cans, balaclavas and weapons inside.
With the assistance of Air Wing, police also found a mobile phone nearby that was dumped by one of the occupants, with an examination identifying that they were allegedly on route to a commercial premise with the intention to ram it with the vehicle and set it on fire.
Two 17-year-old boys from the Wyndham area, and an 18-year-old male from Strathtulloh were charged with theft of motor vehicle and conspiracy to commit criminal damage by fire.
The 17-year-old driver was also charged with dangerous driving whilst pursued by police, amongst other driving charges. Both 17-year-olds were remanded in custody, and the 18-year-old was bailed to appear at court at a later date.
Operation Momentum ran for four consecutive nights in late November, leading to the arrest of 37 people for over 170 offences, including car theft, burglaries, dangerous driving and weapon offences.
14 stolen cars were recovered and a further 13 cars impounded for driving offences.
More than 2,000 vehicles were checked with police also clearing 19 outstanding warrants.
As a result of the operation, police were also able to disrupt more offending, including:
- Two men, a 27-year-old from Burnside Heights and a 35-year-old from Eynesbury, who were allegedly inside a stolen Nissan Navara being driven up to 100km p/h contraflow, on Station Road in St Albans at about 12am on Friday 28 November. After dumping the car in Fairfax Court, the two men allegedly fled the car, climbed onto a nearby roof of a house and ran into parkland behind the address. They were both arrested on the other side of the parkland and will face charges of theft of motor vehicle and dangerous driving.
- Three men who were arrested in Meadow Glen Drive, after driving in an unregistered Holden Commodore just prior to 1am on Friday 28 November. A search of the car located several knives, drugs as well as a mask.
- A 21-year-old Melton South man who had allegedly been caught speeding twice in the week prior, and failed to stop for police. Police caught up with him during Operation Momentum after observing a Holden Commodore being driven up to 190 km p/h on the Western Freeway towards Darley at about 10.20pm on Thursday 27 November. Stop sticks were deployed in Grey Street, and the car came to a stop. The driver allegedly attempted to flee but was quickly apprehended by police.
Operation Momentum ran for four nights from 26 to 29 November, and will continue to run regularly across Brimbank and Melton.
Anyone with information about crime in their area should report this to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or via www.crimestoppersvic.com.au
Quotes attributable to Detective Senior Sergeant, Nick Di Mieri:
"This operation continues to be a huge success for the local area - it's not just about the number of people we arrest or stolen cars we find, it's the offending we've prevented from happening.
"A number of those arrested were allegedly on their way to commit more crimes, and Operation Momentum put a stop to this.
"As the operation ran overnight, the community may not have seen us - but they can be assured we were out in large numbers saturating the area.
"Expect that local police will continue to run more operations such as this, targeting all areas of crime and ensuring public safety."
