Townsville District police arrest more than 500 people on 2000 charges since January 1

Townsville police have arrested three teens as part of an investigation into a stolen Toyota Fortuner.

THREE teenagers have been arrested as part of an investigation into a stolen Toyota Fortuner.

Police took three teenage boys into custody this morning to assist police with the investigation into the car, which was allegedly stolen from Hyde Park on Sunday, July 17.

The stolen Fortuner has been involved in an alleged attempted carjacking, an alleged home invasion, and alleged rammings.

Townsville District Inspector Dean Cavanagh said a male, 15, was arrested in Garbutt about 8.30am.

“Around 9.30am, a 15-year-old male was arrested in Heatley and around 9.35am, a 14-year-old male was arrested in Cranbrook,” he said.

The vehicle was found abandoned in Kirwan on Thursday morning.

2000 CHARGES: Cops crack down on crime

A DEDICATED team of police are on the hunt for a group of people allegedly involved in a raft of violent crimes this week, after the stolen car at the centre of it all was found dumped.

A Toyota Fortuna stolen from a Hyde Park house on Sunday night was involved in an alleged attempted carjacking, an alleged home invasion, and alleged rammings before it was found abandoned at Kirwan early on Thursday morning.

Police said a group of five males, aged between 16 and 24 years old, allegedly took off from the car after being interrupted by passers-by before they could set it on fire.

Townsville District Inspector Dean Cavanagh said there was a team of officers tasked with tracking the group of violent suspects down.

“We don’t want to go too far into our investigative techniques for obvious reasons. We do have a dedicated team of both uniformed and plainclothes detectives, to try and locate and identify and arrest these and other offenders,” Inspector Cavanagh said.

The carnage began on Monday night when the Toyota Fortuna crashed into a parked car on Bowen Rd and drove dangerously around the area.

Early on Tuesday morning, the same vehicle was involved in the ambush of a security patrol vehicle, ramming it repeatedly to the point it became undriveable.

Later that day, the same car was allegedly involved in a home invasion at Douglas which left a resident and neighbour injured.

The car was finally dumped at Kirwan about 3am on Thursday.

District duty officer Senior Sergeant Joe Matheson said it appeared the group of people were about to set the car on fire before being interrupted, as a piece of cloth was found shoved down the entry to the fuel tank.

Inspector Cavanagh said police were trawling the car for clues.

Inspector Dean Cavanagh said police are working hard to find a group of males who fled a stolen car.

“We currently have forensic teams going through that vehicle to gather any evidence whatsoever to ensure that we can identify and locate the offenders that area involved,” he said.

Inspector Cavanagh denied there had been a spike in crime, saying police have charged 22 people with 98 offences in the last seven days.

Since January, 448 people have been arrested for 2076 property-related charges, and 19 stolen cars have been stopped with tyre deflation devices.

“As people are tucking themselves into bed and watching that last bit of Netflix, our boys and girls are actually getting up having a coffee and going in the streets.

“We have a very well-orchestrated system in place.”

Inspector Cavanagh said there were still a number of stolen cars outstanding but they would be working hard to apprehend those involved in the offences this week.

He urged the community to continue tipping them off on any leads they may have witnessed.

Originally published as Townsville District police arrest more than 500 people on 2000 charges since January 1