By LACHLAN MOORHEAD
THE last week has seen yet another string of aggravated burglaries in Casey, culminating in the drivers of two stolen cars evading police.
Police picked up the two stolen cars about 11.30pm on Sunday 8 November but when they went to intercept them they drove off.
Both cars – a white BMW X5 and a black Hyundai Elantra – are believed to have been stolen during recent aggravated burglaries.
The BMW is also believed to have allegedly fled from a booze bus in Dandenong on Friday night.
It comes as Star News last week reported police were receiving roughly one to two reports a day of aggravated burglaries throughout the municipality.
Since then two houses in Cranbourne North have been broken into while people were inside, and cars were stolen from the properties.
The first incident occurred on Sunday 8 November, with someone breaking into a Courtney Avenue home about 5am while the occupants were inside, taking the keys and stealing a 2015 Mitsubishi Challenger Station Wagon.
The car was last seen heading east along Courtney Avenue.
The second aggravated burglary in Cranbourne North occurred the next day (Monday 9 November) about 6.15am, with someone breaking into a Burford Way house, taking keys, and then stealing a grey Ford territory.
Both cars are still missing.
Another incident saw a victim come face to face with an intruder inside his Cranbourne home earlier this month.
The victim was woken up in the early hours of Monday 2 November when he heard a sound inside his Harry Street house.
When he got up to investigate he was confronted by an unknown man who then fled, taking the victim’s iPad, house keys and car keys.
The intruder is described as Caucasian, aged in his mid-twenties, about 185cm tall, and was wearing a dark beanie, a shirt, an orange high visibility vest, dark pants and boots.
For several months dating back to at least July there has been a concerning spate of aggravated burglaries in Casey this year, in which thieves enter houses, often through unlocked doors while people are asleep, steal keys and use them to make off with the occupant’s car.
“It’s a simple thing of making sure the garage door is locked, locking any internal doors, and making sure that the keys aren’t anywhere where they can be found easily,” Detective Senior Sergeant Rod Maroney, from Casey CIU, said last week.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000, or submit a confidential crime report at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au
