Six men and youths from the South East have been arrested after an aggravated home invasion and police pursuit across several suburbs.
A man and woman barricaded themselves in a bedroom as the males allegedly armed with a knife and two guns forced entry into a home in Bilbul Avenue in Rosebud about 2.50am on Thursday 4 September.
The intruders opened the door, threatened them and forced them to hand over about $1000 cash, police say.
Both residents sustained minor injuries.
The group fled in a stolen white Mercedes SUV, which was allegedly spotted by police a short time later travelling at about 150 km/h on the Peninsula Link near Moorooduc.
Officers attempted to intercept the vehicle, but it allegedly sped off.
About 5am, the same Mercedes stopped at a property in Ballantyne Street in Thornbury.
Police say the group of male youths got out of the car and forced entry into the property.
No one was inside at the time of the incident, and it is unclear if anything was stolen, police say.
Operation Trinity units, the Air Wing and uniform officers followed the car through multiple suburbs, including Prahran and Hawthorn, then onto the Monash Freeway.
Four offenders left the Mercedes on the Princes Freeway in Berwick and got into a waiting Mazda, according to police.
As the Mazda has tried to drive off, it collided with a trailer on a civilian vehicle.
Six alleged offenders across both vehicles were arrested by Operation Trinity units at the scene.
Two 19-year-olds from Casey, a 17-year-old from Casey, a 20-year-old from Kingston, a 21-year-old from Greater Dandenong and a 21-year-old from Cardinia were arrested by police at the scene.
They were taken into custody and expected to be interviewed that day.
Police say they found firearm components and ammunition in the possession of one of the males.
Four machetes and a sword were allegedly seized from the Mazda.
Acting Commander Adrian Healy, of Victoria Police’s Southern Metro Region,said Operation Trinity units worked together on the road to secure the arrest.
“Police are well aware that the impact caused by an intruder entering your home lasts long after they leave.
“That’s why we are out in force every night to try and prevent as many of these incidents as possible and when that’s not possible, ensuring the offenders are in custody by the time the sun rises.
“There is an extreme risk caused by young offenders driving stolen vehicles at high speeds on our roads and we are thankful no one was seriously injured last night.”
As part of Operation Trinity, police arrested 661 burglars and car thieves 1,700 times in the twelve months to the end of July 2025.
That equates to almost five burglars and car thieves arrested every single day.
Police say 66.4 per cent of these arrests were related to child offenders aged between 10 – 17.
And 86.2 per cent of the arrested offenders were aged under 25.
