Police have conducted a three-day high-visibility operation focused on preventing and disrupting crime in the Port Stephens, Maitland and Hunter Valley areas.
Between Wednesday 5 November 2025 and Friday 7 November 2025, Operation Soteria police – assisted by Port Stephens-Hunter and Hunter Valley Police Districts, the Dog Unit, and Youth Command – saturated the Port Stephens, Maitland and Hunter Valley areas under Operation Surge to target and reduce crime.
During the operation, police conducted 52 bail compliance checks, and arrested and charged seven people.
Incidents of note include:
- About 1am on Friday 7 November 2025, police found a vehicle abandoned near Ashfield that had been stolen during a break and enter at a home in Metford on Tuesday 4 November 2025. The Dog Unit commenced a search of the area; however, was unable to locate the five young people allegedly seen to have run from the vehicle. During a search of the vehicle, two large knives were found. They knives and vehicle were seized and will undergo forensic examination.
- About 11pm on Friday 7 November 2025, police commenced pursuit of a vehicle in Greta that had been stolen from a house in Lorn on Thursday 6 November 2025. The pursuit continued to Rutherford where the vehicle was abandoned, and four young people ran from the vehicle. The vehicle and a knife found within were seized and will undergo forensic examination. A 15-year-old boy was arrested nearby and taken to Maitland Police Station. They will be dealt with under the Young Offenders Act.
Operation Soteria continues.
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