Casey police have smashed a crime ring targeting cars parked at train stations along the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines.
By Glen Atwell
COMMUTERS can breathe a sigh of relief after Casey police smashed a crime ring targeting the Cranbourne and Pakenham train lines.
Three men, all from Cranbourne, were each charged with 140 offences, including burglary, theft of motor cars, theft from motor cars and criminal damage.
One of the men, aged 18, was bailed to appear in the Dandenong Magistrates’ Court on 23 July.
A 16-year-old and a 15-year-old were among those charged and will appear in the Dandenong Children’s Court on 11 July.
A fourth man aged, 18, was interviewed and released.
Detective Sergeant Larry Grimshaw said police had responded to the escalating number of car thefts and burglaries occurring in the area.
“There had been a significant increase in car thefts and other car-related crime at train stations in recent times,” he said.
“This was a joint operation between the Criminal Investigation Units of Narre Warren and Cranbourne.”
The 140 charges laid relate to incidents at the Dandenong station, and stations throughout Casey and the Shire of Cardinia, including Hallam, Narre Warren, Pakenham, Merinda Park and Cranbourne.
Police also recovered a significant haul of stolen property during their investigations.
Det Sgt Grimshaw said commuters still needed to use commonsense whenever they parked their vehicles.
“People need to make sure that valuables are out of sight when they leave their cars,” he said. “Just recently we had three car windows smashed at one shopping centre in one day. A GPS unit, a mobile phone and a laptop were all left in plain view.
“People need to be very careful,” Det Sgt Grimshaw said.
