A joint operation between Collie and Australind Police has resulted in the arrest of a 28-year-old Australind man for one of ‘biggest series of burglaries’ seen in Collie.
Senior Constable Dion Jackson said police received information in relation to a number of recent burglaries on Friday and executed a search warrant on a property in Wallsend Street the next morning.
As a result of that search warrant, police seized around 275 stolen items and charged the man with 47 burglary and fraud offences.
Stolen property was also seized from a house in Australind and a Cash Converters in Bunbury.
Senior Constable Jackson said police believe the man had started stealing copper piping from vacant properties about three months ago before moving on to burglaries targeting vacant homes and the elderly around Wallsend, Deakin and Ogden streets.
He said police believe the man was involved in approximately 35 burglaries in Collie and a further 30 in Australind, which had a ‘significant impact on the community’.
Senior Constable Jackson said police would be contacting the victims of the burglaries over the next week and urged anyone else who had been burgled over the last three months to contact Collie Police.
The man was remanded into custody and will appear in court in Bunbury later this week.
Senior Constable Jackson said police also charged a 34-year-old Collie woman with drug and property offences in relation to the burglaries and that he expects there will be more charges in the future.
Senior Constable Jackson said the arrest came as a result of the hard work of police in Collie.
“It was an absolutely awesome result from the Collie Police who worked relentlessly over the weekend to make the arrest,” he said.
“This is the biggest series of burglaries we’ve had in recent years.”
