A Werribee police operation has led to the arrest of 35 alleged car thieves and dangerous drivers, as well as the recovery of six stolen cars across just two nights.
Operation Shows runs sporadically overnight in the area, with local police teaming up with specialist units including the Air Wing and Dog Squad to target car thieves and track down offenders.
Over two nights in late August, 35 people were arrested and now face a combined 72 charges including theft of motor vehicle, unauthorised driving and evade police.
Six stolen cars were recovered and a further five cars were impounded due to dangerous driving behaviour, such as speeding, drink driving or unlicensed driving.
A Toyota Prado, Nissan X-Trail and a 2024 Mahindra were among the stolen cars recovered.
Police also located two key reprogramming devices in one of the cars, allegedly used by a car thief to steal cars.
Those arrested include:
- A 45-year-old from Melton who was allegedly observed driving a stolen Toyota Prado with stolen number numberplates in Truganina at about 10.55pm on Thursday. The car was tracked by the Air Wing to Richmond, after allegedly stealing petrol and running through multiple red lights. The car came to a stop and the driver got out of the car, and then ran to the Yarra River. He jumped in and swam across to the other side where he was arrested. A search of his vehicle uncovered two key reprogramming devices which were seized by police. He was charged with theft of motor vehicle, fail to stop on police direction, theft of number plates, theft of petrol, drive whilst disqualified and three counts of commit indictable offence while on bail.
- A 25-year-old Charlemont man who allegedly failed to stop for police on Little Boundary Road at 2.45am on Friday morning. He was allegedly driving a Suzuki Vitara with registration plates stuck on with tape. The man had his car impounded and was charged with disqualified driving, fail to stop on police direction and possess drugs.
- A 22-year-old from Hoppers Crossing who was allegedly speeding on Tarneit Road at about 10.40pm on the Friday night in a stolen car. Air Wing tracked the car to Hoppers Crossing where two occupants exited the car and attempted to hide in the driveway, before they were arrested. The Hoppers Crossing man was charged with theft of motor vehicle, possess cartridge, possess dangerous article and fail to stop on police direction.
- A 20-year-old from Lovely Banks who allegedly displayed false registration plates and failed to stop for police on Heaths Road on Friday morning. The man, an alleged disqualified learner driver, also returned a positive reading to a preliminary breath test. His charges include drink driving, exceed speed limit, unregistered motor vehicle, unroadworthy vehicle, disqualified driving, fail to stop and displaying fraudulent registration plates.
Operation Shows ran overnight on 21 and 22 August and will continue to run sporadically in the area.
The operation commenced in 2022, and over 1,000 people have been arrested for more than 1,770 offences committed across the Wyndham area. Police have charged 254 people with unauthorised driving, impounded 225 cars and recovered over 60 stolen cars.
Anyone with information about car thieves is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or via www.crimestoppersvic.com.au
Quotes attributable to Werribee Police, Senior Sergeant Peter West:
"While the community slept, police were patrolling the Wyndham area from the ground and the sky.
"Not only is the success of this operation measured by the number of people we arrested, it also sends a strong message that we may be out at anytime, combining our resources and swiftly arresting anyone committing these offences.
"We do not hesitate to impound vehicles of dangerous drivers so they are removed from the roads.
"You won't know when Operation Shows is running, so we'd strongly suggest anyone thinking of stealing cars, evading police or driving dangerously in Wyndham to think again."
