Snr Sgt Lance Guteridge
January 31, 2018
Police have arrested more than 20 people after a series of break-ins and car thefts in the Murgon area over the December-January school holidays.
Officer-in-charge of Murgon Police, Senior Sergeant Lance Guteridge, said six vehicles had been stolen from Murgon and one from Brisbane.
All had since been recovered, including several which had been hidden in forestry areas around the South Burnett.
The alleged offenders were aged between 11 and 19 and will face a total of 110 charges, including stealing, break and entering, unlawful use of a motor vehicle and evading police.
Police will allege the stolen vehicles were used in other offences, including stealing from bottleshops and petrol drive-offs in Brisbane and the South Burnett.
They opposed bail for both the juveniles and adults when they appeared in Murgon Children’s Court and Murgon Magistrates Court.
All charged are from the South Burnett except one from Central Queensland and one from Brisbane.
Snr Sgt Guteridge said police would allege some were repeat offenders.
He said Murgon’s recently installed CCTV security cameras had helped police gather intelligence in relation to the alleged offences, but he put down the arrests to good police work.
“They made it very hard for us to locate them, hiding out and then running away and jumping over fences,” he said.
Snr Sgt Guteridge said it was also probably the biggest group local police had dealt with, and investigations were continuing,
“We will be endeavouring to speak to other persons who may be able to assist us in our inquiries,” he said.
