More than 280 stolen bikes are among the haul. Photo: Supplied / NZ police
Police are trying to find the owners of more than 3000 stolen items recovered in Wellington recovered when police broke a "major" theft and burglary ring in the city.
The goods were seized in raids on houses and 15 commercial storage units and run to hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of stolen goods.
The items include:
- 285 bikes
- 950 power tools
- 2 baths
- 10 generators
- 8 concrete cutters
- 10 infinity gas heaters
- 695 new and packaged tapware and mixes
- 46 Fujitsu heat pumps
- 33 laptops
- 8 computers
- 132 household appliances/whiteware
- 27 e-scooters
Wellington District criminal investigations manager Detective Inspector John van den Heuvel who is in charge of Operation Trump Card said staff have never before encountered a stolen goods ring of this scale.
They were beginning the job of finding the owners for the gear.
"Being in a position to finally return goods to people who had to go through the anguish of having their property stolen is a real privilege for police," he said.
Some of the goods that have been recovered. Photo: Supplied / NZ police
Two men and one woman have been charged with dishonesty offences and will appear in Wellington District Court next February.
Police said they were expecting to make more arrests.
Inspector van den Heuvel said more charges were likely.
"Our number one priority now is to work with victims and return their property to them.
"The sheer volume of items has taken a long time for staff to catalogue, process as evidence, and prepare for the community to reclaim their property."
He said returning the gear will be a long but happy job for police.
Police have already been able to match a lot of the stolen property to owners that reported the theft at the time their property was taken.
Anyone that has had property stolen that has not reported the theft, was encouraged to do so, and provide a description of their item.
