Wantirna: Two arrested, $200k in alleged stolen items found at Mountain Hwy hotel

A police investigation into a stolen car has led to an estimated $200,000 of allegedly stolen items being uncovered in a Wantirna hotel room.

A pair of knuckle dusters was among the items allegedly uncovered in a raid of a hotel room in Wantirna following the arrest of two men on July 26. File picture.

An estimated $200,000 in allegedly stolen items have been seized after police tracked down two men linked to an allegedly stolen car parked outside a Wantirna hotel.

Croydon detective Senior Sergeant Jim Sutherland said officers were investigating the recent theft of a black BMW in Glen Waverley, which they found in the carpark of a hotel on Mountain Hwy, Wantirna on July 26 at 2.30am.

They saw two men come out of a hotel room, who began to run away as police approached them, and were later arrested after a short foot chase.

Officers allegedly found cash, stolen items and drugs on the pair, and decided to conduct a search of their room.

The search allegedly uncovered about $4000 cash, knuckle dusters, and quantities of drugs including butanediol and a trafficable quantity of ice.

Other items allegedly found included high-end clothing and jewellery, electrical equipment, cameras and a safe.

Sen-Sgt Sutherland said the estimated value of the alleged stolen goods was about $200,000, mainly due to the value of the jewellery.

The two men, both aged 31, from Keysborough and Noble Park, were charged with drug trafficking, car theft, handling stolen goods and burglary offences.

Sen-Sgt Sutherland said the Keysborough man was also charged with weapon offences for alleged possession of the knuckle dusters.

The duo faced the Ringwood Magistrates’ Court on July 27 and were further remanded to face the County Court of Victoria for a filing hearing at a later date.

Meanwhile, a woman was caught 24 hours later driving unlicensed in another allegedly stolen car in Heathmont.

Sen-Sgt Sutherland said officers recognised the car, a red Toyota Camry, while on patrol in Alvena Crescent on July 27 at 2.30am.

The woman left the car and went inside a house, and police called in additional members and the dog squad to surround the scene, before they entered the home and arrested her.

Sen-Sgt Sutherland said the 39-year-old Heathmont woman was charged with driving unlicensed, car theft, theft from a car and fixing false number plates, and bailed to appear at the Ringwood Magistrates’ Court on October 12.