Police have arrested five teenagers after an allegedly stolen car was spotted in the early hours of Wednesday 7 August, leading to the Air Wing and Dog Squad apprehending the teenagers and allegedly finding machetes in the vehicle.
Police were patrolling Waverley Road at about 2am when they noticed the Hyundai I30 with five people on board.
Police followed the vehicle at a distance until officers were able to call the Air Wing, which took over observations on the car.
The Air Wing followed the car to Harkaway where the car stopped on Finkel Road.
Police moved in and the occupants of the car fled on foot and ran towards a nearby creek.
The Air Wing directed officers, who were assisted by members of the Dog Squad.
Police quickly took four teenage girls and a teenage boy into custody.
Police then searched the car and allegedly found machetes in the vehicle.
All five teenagers are currently assisting police with their inquiries.
The arrest was part of Operation Trinity, which runs every single night until dawn as Victoria Police’s most well-resourced frontline policing operation at present.
As part of Operation Trinity, there are 70 additional police rostered each night, on top of existing patrols, including frontline officers, Highway Patrol members, the Dog Squad, Public Order Response Team, and Air Wing.
As a result of this intense focus, police have made more than 1400 arrests relating to burglaries and car thefts, with the overwhelming majority of these offenders’ children.
Police have also made an additional 2300 night shift arrests for other criminal offending due to the strong police presence as part of Operation Trinity.
