More than 50 car thieves, dangerous drivers and burglars in Hume were arrested, with several stolen cars also recovered as part of a recent major overnight operation.
Among those arrested was a 21-year-old Fawkner man caught allegedly driving a Porsche which had been stolen during an aggravated burglary in Hawthorn two years ago and had since been re-birthed.
A teenager was also arrested after police spotted an alleged stolen car being driven at speeds up to 240km p/h. It's alleged the teen attempted to commit an aggravated burglary and steal another car while in the sights of the Air Wing when he was arrested.
Operation Nighthawk sees uniform police and detectives team up with the Dog Squad and the Air Wing to target offenders and disrupt their activities.
Those in stolen cars or driving around the streets recklessly - who police believe are often out to commit further offences - are targeted and arrested during the operation.
All areas of Hume are a focus for the operation, including Broadmeadows, Coolaroo, Craigieburn, Mickleham, Meadow Heights and Roxburgh Park.
A Police Operations Centre is set up, where officers in charge of the operation work to coordinate the resources in the field, providing directions to police based on real-time intelligence.
The operation led to 51 people being arrested, including:
- A 21-year-old Fawkner man who was caught allegedly driving a silver Porsche erratically while displaying false registration plates in a Campbellfield car park just before 1am on Thursday 11 December. Police observed the car allegedly crash into a red light when exiting the car park, before it evaded police when they attempted to pull it over. Police deployed stop sticks and the car came to a stop in Cromer Court in Gladstone Park, when the male driver was arrested. Checks on the car revealed it had been stolen in 2023 during an aggravated burglary in Hawthorn East, and has since been re-birthed to conceal its original identity. The man was charged and bailed to appear at court at a later date.
- A 17-year-old male from the northern suburbs who was allegedly driving a grey Volkswagen stolen from a property in Hawthorn East in late November. The car was allegedly being driven at speeds up to 240km p/h on the Western Ring Road. It's alleged the male also attempted to commit another aggravated burglary to steal another car, when he was disrupted and arrested by police.
- A 32-year-old Tullamarine man who was caught allegedly driving up to speeds of 190km p/h in a white Audi in Tullamarine at about 11.30pm on Sunday 7 December.
- A 15-year-old male from the northern suburbs who was allegedly driving a red Holden Commodore with false registration plates at speeds up to 150km p/h on Somerton Road. A balaclava was located by police in the vehicle.
Across the four nights, police recovered seven stolen cars and 11 further cars were impounded due to driving offences.
Operation Nighthawk ran from 7 to 10 December and will continue to run sporadically across the northern suburbs.
Quotes attributable to Hume Local Area Commander, Inspector Olivia Freeman:
"The success of Op Nighthawk is not just in our arrests, it's the crime we have disrupted and stopped from happening in the first place as well.
"These incidents also highlight the ongoing impacts of a stolen car or reckless driving - often these are people out looking to commit further offences.
"This kind of reckless behaviour on our roads remains firmly in our sights and we won't be slowing down our efforts.
"We have officers in Hume who are extremely passionate about this community, and will continue to do everything we can to ensure they are safe."
