POLICE want vehicle owners to lock cars and keep keys well-hidden following the continuing theft of high-end vehicles on the Mornington Peninsula.
Senior Sergeant Eddie Lagonda said targeted car thefts were regularly occurring in wealthier suburbs around the peninsula, such as Mount Martha and Mount Eliza.
He said the thieves often belonged to online networks of people looking for high end cars to joyride and were not necessarily linked to organised crime and rebirthing operations.
“To a certain extent it’s opportunistic, so we want car owners to always be careful to lock vehicles, garages and house doors, and never keep the keys where thieves can’t find them,” Senior Sergeant Lagonda said.
“It’s rare to get a car theft where thieves have had to smash their way in, they look for the easy target.”
In the latest car theft, a grey Audi A5 and a grey Audi Q5 were stolen from a house in Manatee Avenue, Mount Eliza, in the early hours of 31 August.
The thieves are believed to have entered the house by a side door and stolen a handbag left in the dining areas with car keys.
The Audi Q5 was recovered later that day in Endeavour Hills, but it is believed the other vehicle is still missing.
First published in the Southern Peninsula News – 13 September 2022
