A teen will face court charged following investigations into multiple property-related incidents in the state's north this year.
Operation Regional Mongoose is a high-visibility police operation to tackle serious property-related crime, committed predominately by young offenders.
Officers attached to Oxley Police District commenced investigations into multiple property-related offences in the Tamworth area including:
- About 3am on Sunday 18 February 2024, police received reports of a fail to pay involving a blue Mazda CX5 at a service station on Goonoo Goonoo Road, Tamworth. Checks revealed the car was allegedly stolen overnight from a home on Phillip Street, Tamworth. The car was located abandoned about 10.30am at the intersection of Gabriella Way and Darian Avenue, Tamworth.
- Police received reports a Ford Ranger and a Toyota Camry were allegedly stolen from a home on Hercules Street, Tamworth, between 10.30pm on Sunday 18 February 2024 and 1.50am on Monday 19 February 2024. The Camry was located abandoned on Matheson Street, Tamworth, about 3.40am the same day. The Ranger was located by police about 5.30pm on Thursday 21 February 2024.
- Just after 1am on Saturday 8 June 2024, entry was forced into a home on Kinarra Street, Tamworth, where a handbag, keys, and a Toyota Corolla was allegedly stolen. Police located the Corolla abandoned in Narine Close, about 12.20pm the same day.
Following extensive inquiries, about 10.10am today (Wednesday 7 August 2024), police served a future court attendance notice to a 17-year-old boy at a correctional facility. He was charged with;
- Dishonestly obtain property by deception
- Drive conveyance taken without consent of owner (three counts)
- Drive recklessly/furiously or speed/manner dangerous
- Never licensed person drive vehicle on road (two counts), and
- Face blackened/disguised with intent commit indictable offence.
The teen was remanded in custody and will appear at a Children's court on Tuesday 3 September 2024.
Inquiries under Operation Regional Mongoose continue.
Anyone with information about Operation Regional Mongoose is urged to contact Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000 or https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au. Information is treated in strict confidence. The public is reminded not to report information via NSW Police social media pages.
