Brazen thieves raid Moonee Ponds apartment storage cage

Thieves have raided a carpark below an apartment complex in Melbourne’s north, with theft targeting storage units skyrocketing in the past 12 months.

Opportunistic crooks have raided an apartment building storage cage in Melbourne’s north, with underground carparks becoming happy hunting grounds for brazen thieves.

Police responded to calls of a “suspicious loiterer” by two males outside an apartment complex at Moore St, Moonee Ponds on Thursday morning, before finding the building’s underground storage cage had been broken into.

Footage supplied to the Herald Sun showed police investigating the Moore St building about an hour after the incident was reported.

Police say it was unknown if anything was stolen, with an investigation into the incident ongoing.

It comes as burglaries and break-ins targeting storage cages increased by 52 per cent in the last year.

Data from Crime Statistics Agency revealed there were 1037 burglary offences recorded for storage cages in the year to September 2024 — up from 680 in the 12 months before.

According to the data storage cages were the ninth most targeted locations for break-ins and burglaries in the past year — ahead of construction sites, factories and schools.

Last year RACV released a report which outlined its key tips for apartment residents to avoid storage cage theft, including watching out for tailgaters entering car parks, installing CCTV and setting up group chats with fellow residents to report suspicious behaviour.

Anyone who witnessed the incident, with dashcam/CCTV footage or information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report online.