Three teenagers have been arrested by police following an extended follow through the southeastern suburbs of Melbourne this morning.
The trio were first spotted by Operation Trinity units in Mons Parade Noble Park about 12.45am after a check of the vehicle confirmed it was bearing stolen registration plates.
Police attempted to intercept the Mazda BT50 utility before it sped off from police towards Dandenong.
The Air Wing was in the area and took up observations of the vehicle, assisting units on the ground, as the ute travelled through Dandenong, Hallam, Narre Warren, Officer, Tynong, Garfield and into Bunyip.
Responding police successfully deployed stop sticks on Longwarry Road before the teens dumped the car near a football reserve in Collette Street Longwarry and ran.
A dog squad member and his canine partner were hot on their tails and tracked down and arrested one of the teens in Bandicoot Circuit
The two remaining teenagers, after spotting the police dog in action, surrendered to police with their hands up.
A Ford Ranger, also believed stolen and possibly linked to the trio, was recovered nearby. The dumped car has also been confirmed as stolen.
Those arrested, a boy and girl aged 15 and a 13-year-old boy, are currently in custody and will be interviewed by police.
Victoria Police has a dedicated operation targeting burglars and car thieves from dusk to dawn across Melbourne.
On top of standard patrols, there are large numbers of additional police including members of the Dog Squad, Public Order Response and Air Wing, specifically tasked with preventing and responding to burglaries and car thefts each night.
As a result of this intense focus, police arrested 682 burglars and car thieves over 1,750 times in the twelve months to the end of May 2025.
That equates to almost five burglars and car thieves arrested every single day.
Operation Trinity is Victoria Police's most well-resourced operation, with over 140,000 policing hours dedicated solely to this operation in 2024.
On top of this, the Air Wing spent well over a thousand hours in the sky last year tracking burglars and car thieves as part of Trinity.
Latest police intelligence indicates that as more than 80% of all aggravated burglaries in key hotspots are through unlocked doors/windows or unsuccessful attempts when the offender has discovered the property is locked.
As such, police implore the community to take simple steps such as locking all doors and windows on your home and car.
The data tells is undeniable - if you lock your doors, your chances of falling victim dramatically decrease.
