Thread: Stolen GPS Leads Police To Hideout

I bet the police commissioners wish there were more crimes like this so it would improve the success rates as well as reduce the man hours.

IT might be the easiest arrest Mt Ommaney police have ever made?

One man has been charged with robbery after he was tracked by a satellite navigation system he had stolen which inadvertently alerted police to his exact whereabouts. The bust led police to recover tens of thousands of stolen equipment taken in what appeared to be sophisticated heists. The breakthrough is thanks to Sumner Park company Fleetlink GPS.

When thieves broke into the company's office earlier this month they stole more than $13,000 worth of equipment including a demonstration pack, a laptop computer and a half-dozen in-car navigators.mThe cutting edge equipment is used by transport companies to monitor their fleets. But five days later, a thief plugged the software in which alerted Fleetlink to the precise location of its stolen equipment.

"We were fairly confident he was going to be silly enough to plug it in because it looks like something to plug in," said business development manager Murray Griffith. "The curiosity would have killed the cat, without a doubt. "It was quite funny, we had a bit of a laugh and then contacted police. "But I don't think it took much to outsmart him though. "If he was that smart he wouldn't be a criminal."

The thief's location was traced to a residence in the nearby suburb of Camira - exactly eight kilometres or 13 minutes and 41 seconds away. On this evidence, police were able to obtain a search warrant and do a search of the property which uncovered a virtual Aladdin's Cave of stolen equipment. Mr Griffith said the thief had disposed of the demonstration pack worth $3000, but the remaining equipment, totalling more than $10,000 was able to be recovered.

The alleged thief, a 54-year-old man, has been issued with a notice to appear and will appear in court next month.