Cops arrest man after front garden stolen in West Croydon

LAST week we reported how a sneaky thief had stolen dozens of valuable plants from a houseproud western suburbs family’s front garden. Today there’s good news — police have arrested a man linked to the theft.

• Thief steals Croydon front garden

A FERRYDEN Park man who has been linked to the theft of half a garden worth of plants from a West Croydon frontyard has been arrested.

A police spokeswoman said the 52-year-old man was arrested on Sunday, December 3, after the homeowners, Thien Quach and Celina Ha, reported the theft to the police.

The spokeswoman said the man was arrested on “other matters” and remained in custody.

CCTV footage from the incident, on Thursday, November 23 at 3am, showed the alleged thief ripping out 11 prized magnolia trees, 10 dahlias, five gladiolas, 10 chrysanthemums, more than 30 solar lights and irrigation.

The video, which showed the man walking up the driveway with a bag and a shovel to dig up and take the plants away, was handed to police.

Ms Ha posted the CCTV footage to social media and attracted thousands of views and hundreds of comments.

There have also been offers from people across the state to donate plants to the couple.

When the Westside Weekly Messenger spoke to the couple last week, Ms Ha said she felt “violated”.

Ms Ha said it would cost about $500 to replace the garden.

“My husband called me while I was on night shift just before 5am to ask me if I’d been in the garden removing trees,” she said.

“He then told me someone had been in our front garden stealing them — these plants cost us lots of money and also endless hours in the garden.

“To think that someone could be so cheap to go and steal from another’s garden is absolutely disgusting.”

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