Hunt for stolen 4WD
LEONGATHA football player and Thorpdale local Ben Willis was dismayed to watch his Nissan Patrol 4WD being stolen from Dandenong South via a camera.
Police are on the hunt for a group of men who are behind the series of brazen thefts at Ben’s workplace.
“I was at home (in Thorpdale) but my car was parked at the work shop in Dandenong South,” Ben said.
“The shed was locked up at the time.”
Investigators believe the group of three or four men entered the factory on Gaine Road, Dandenong South, around 1.45am on Saturday, January 25, by cutting a large hole in the cyclone fencing.
The burglars rifled through several cars, stealing tools, rolls of copper wire and scrap metal.
They left around 4am in a white van which had been parked in an adjacent car park.
“The camera wasn’t clear enough to see any faces,” Ben said.
The men struck again at the same business around 12.30am the following night, entering through the same fence hole and again searching cars and removing tools and other items.
The burglars hooked a trailer and wood chipper up to Ben’s Nissan Patrol 4WD and drove off, stealing all three.
Ben said the wood chipper was valued around $10,000 and estimated the total cost of the stolen items was $25,000.
His prized 4WD was lasted spotted in Cranbourne South on Sunday, February 1, but has heard no word since.
He is appealing to those who may have seen the 4WD to call the police.
“It’s very distinctive,” he said.
“I’ve made a lot of modifications.”
The 4WD has a DUG sticker on the windscreen, 35 inch tyres, has been lifted, has a light bar on the roof and a hula girl on the front.
Now 21, Ben has had the 4WD since he was 17 and has put a lot of time and money into it.
“I bought it stock standard and now it has been stolen,” he said.
Investigators have released an image of the stolen Nissan Patrol in the hope someone may be able to provide information of its whereabouts.
Anyone with information is urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential crime report on www.crimestoppersvic.com.au.
Missing: this Nissan Patrol 4WD with distinctive features and number plate was stolen from Leongatha football player and Thorpdale local Ben Willis during the Australia Day weekend.
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Posted by Tayla Kershaw on Feb 24 2015. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry
