TECH savvy crime gangs who have used social media to commit thefts on the Mornington Peninsula are allegedly made up of many members from Casey and Dandenong.
Police believe the gangs are using Facebook and encryption apps to co-ordinate car thefts on the peninsula and in Frankston, allowing their members to flee quickly, recruit new people and plan their next hit.
Frankston Embona Detective Sergeant Marty O’Brien said gangs with names such as Apex, Y2K and YKK were making life “very busy” for detectives, with many members – some as young as 13 – coming to Frankston from Dandenong and Narre Warren.
A Hampton Park man, 24, believed to be a get-away driver, was arrested by Mornington police in relation to one of the thefts and later released, but may be charged at a later date.
On Saturday 22 August eight cars were broken into in Bentons and Dunns roads, Mt Martha, with thieves stealing a Subaru – later recovered in Frankston North – and loose change.
In Mt Martha on the same night, up to four men burgled a house on The Esplanade, frightening a couple who woke to find them rifling through bedside cupboards and draws before they fled with $20,000 worth of jewellery.
– with The News Mornington Peninsula
