Police arrested 36 people and seized three stolen vehicles as part of multiple operations conducted over four nights in the Brimbank and Melton area.
Of the 36 people arrested, seven were alleged car thieves.
Police from across Brimbank and Melton saturated the streets in March, utilising specialist resources from the Dog Squad and Air Wing to catch car thieves in their tracks and recover any outstanding stolen vehicles.
Car thefts and break-ins remain a significant priority for local police, with the focus being on cars parked at shopping centres and railway stations in Taylors Lakes, Keilor, St Albans and Sunshine.
Police intelligence shows thieves will often try multiple cars until they find one that is unlocked to steal or take items from.
While the focus was predominantly on car theft, the efforts also led to police identifying a range of other offences.
This includes an alleged attempted burglary on a tobacco store, which was disrupted by police patrolling the area, the locating of three illegal firearms in a property in Kurunjang and apprehending a man wanted on several outstanding warrants.
Several high-risk driving offences were also identified, including drivers who would fail to stop on police direction, disqualified driving, unregistered motor vehicles, speeding and dangerous driving.
The combined operations were conducted by general duties police, the Melton Crime Investigation Unit, Caroline Springs Crime Reduction Team, and the Melton and Brimbank Highway Patrols, and ran from March 12 – 15.
More operations are planned in the future.
