Police operation targeting alleged thieves sees 28 houses raided, 40 arrests

Police have raided homes from the northern end to the southern tip of the Gold Coast in a massive operation aimed at the city’s most prolific alleged thieves. SEE WHAT THEY FOUND

HOMES from the north end to the southern tip of the Coast have been raided in an operation targeting the region’s most prolific thieves.

Today’s operation saw cops kick in the doors of 28 homes from Ormeau to Palm Beach, arresting 40 people, in an attempt to recover stolen property police will allege is being used as tender in the Gold Coast drug trade.

In 2018 alone there were 3,846 reported cases of break and enter, along with 2,258 cars stolen and 19,652 reports of theft on the Gold Coast, moving police to crack down on the city’s worst offenders.

A motorbike that was seized during the raids.

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Diamonds, a motorbike, drugs, a sawn-off shotgun, stun gun and a plethora of other stolen property was seized, as detective Inspector Brendan Smith warns thieves to look over their shoulders.

“We were targeting those that intelligence has suggested are involved in property and drug crime,” Insp Smith said.

“I’d suggest a lot of it (the break and enters) is to do with the drug trade … we also seized, cocaine, ice, cannabis, cannabis plants and steroids.

Cannabis plants recovered during the raids.

“They (those arrested) are certainly all known to us, we’re targeting those who have continual offending behaviour.

“We will target these people involved in property crime in any manner that we can, if we can get them for drugs so be it, they need to understand that because they are offending, we will target them for anything.

“This sort of operation is going to be a regular occurrence, we want people who are offending to be looking over their shoulder, we’re going to be coming through their door.”

Insp Smith said having your home broken into or your car stolen is more likely to affect the average person on the Coast, not the high end crime.

“It’s about putting a stop to people offending against mums and dads, regular people on the Coast,” he said.

“In the main, most people on the Gold Coast don’t see that seedier side, the drug culture and crime.

“The only thing they might see is when their cars get stolen, or their houses are broken into, so we are putting some focus into that.”

Drugs found during the raids by Gold Coast police.

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Insp Smith said they also found stolen property from other offences they didn’t know about and will be looking to reunite victims with their goods.

40 people aged from their late teens to their 40s were arrested on 113 charges ranging from break and enter, to supply, possess and produce drugs, to unlawful possession of weapons, stealing, evade police and possession of property suspected of being stolen.

They are all due to appear in Southport Magistrates Court this month.

If you have any information about crime on the Gold Coast contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

A weapon seized by police during today’s raids.