Helensvale family traumatised after home invasion by young teens wielding knives

Police have revealed fresh details after a gang of armed teenagers broke into Helensvale home, stealing cars and terrifying a family.

Police are hunting a gang of youths who broke into a Helensvale home armed with knives, stole two cars and caused thousands of dollars worth of damage.

Emergency services arrived to the Oyster Cove Promenade address at 5.45am on Sunday after reports of a break-in.

Upon arrival, police confirmed two vehicles, a beige BMW 328i and a grey Mazda CX-9, had been stolen from the property.

Father and home owner Marcelo Alcantara recounted the terrifying experience saying the intruders were only metres from his young daughters, aged two and six, when they broke in.

“It was terrifying,” he said. “My wife woke up to a loud noise coming from the garage, there were eight people at least, and a few of them holding knives.”

CCTV shows the moment a Helensvale home was broken into by knife-wielding teens. Picture: Nine Network

Mr Alcantara said the teens could be heard running around his home wielding knives, and he was afraid to confront them for fear of being stabbed.

The incident caused more than $100,000 worth of damage, with the thieves also having reversed into a wall of the family’s garage.

Mr Alcantra, from Brazil originally but having immigrated to Australia for safety, said “weak” youth justice laws had left his family feeling shaken and unprotected. His wife is originally from Iraq.

“The laws in this country are too soft on juvenile crime.

Mina and Marcello Alcantara have recounted the terrifying moment teens with knives stole their cars. Picture: Nine Network

“We have been seeing these incidents on the news for a while, but to have it happen to us is very scary. There is no deterrence, and at the same time, they are thugs, they are criminals,” he added.

Mr Alcantara expressed concern the offenders, if caught, might face lenient consequences, saying juvenile detention “would be like a holiday”.

“(An officer told me) if they get selected for juvenile detention it would be like a holiday … there’s a swimming pool … they look forward to it and enjoy it.”

Gold Coast Chief Superintendent Craig Hanlon.

Chief Superintendent Craig Hanlon said police were hunting “a number of people of interest” they had identified from CCTV footage and hoped to make arrests soon.

“We’re out and about today hunting down those people we think may be the offenders and we’re confident that we’ll have them very soon,” he said.

Chief Supt Hanlon said the offenders they had identified, some of them juveniles, were known to police for having previously committed similar offences.

“Whether they are juveniles are adults they will still feel the full force of the Queensland Police Service and we’ll do everything in our power to hold them to account,” he said.

He said police had recovered the stolen Mazda in the car park of a Pacific Pines shopping, while the BMW was still missing.