While the statistics show that caravan thefts are on the rise, what the raw data doesn’t show is the impact that these crimes have on the victims … many of whom have had their Big Lap dream crushed.
But sometimes there are happy endings.
When Spencer and Michelle Smith’s $50,000 caravan was stolen in the middle of the night from a Darwin compound two weeks ago, the trip around the country with their three daughters they had been had planning for the past five years appeared to be well and truly off.
However, NT police have just made several arrests after executing a search warrant on a property at Darwin River.
The distinctive stolen caravan has been recovered by police. PIC: NT Police
As well as the caravan, Detectives from Strike Force Trident and Dog Operations recovered a significant amount of other stolen property including, multiple trucks, trailers, and motorbikes.
Senior Sergeant Christopher Humphries said detectives had been busy returning a huge amount of property to victims.
“This is a significant seizure for our unit, and I commend the officers for working tirelessly to locate the stolen goods,” he said. “A lot of these objects are people’s livelihoods, and things people work hard for their families to enjoy.”
For Spencer Smith, the phone call informing him that his van had been recovered had restored his ‘faith in humanity’.
“Strike Force Trident called us and said ‘We’ve got your caravan’,” he told the NT News. “I just felt like bloody crying, I didn’t actually realise the emotional impact it would have on me …. it’s hard to explain because we’ve got our big plan to travel and the thought of just never seeing the caravan again wasn’t all that attractive.”
He told the NT News that his wife had been ‘inconsolable’ after the theft, but planning for the end-of-year trip was now back on.
“We’ve got a little bit less than two months, so we’ve got to act pretty quickly,” he said. “But to have the trip is still the plan, and we will do everything we possibly can to make that happen.”
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Very glad these people got their van back. The people arrested will only get a slap on
the wrist from our bleeding-heart magistrates.
Great work by the NT police.
With such an important asset people should invest in a gps tracker for their vans.