Welcome back to Crime Watch Northern Beaches, a weekly wrap up of local crimes and incidents from the Northern Beaches Police Area Command. If you saw or can help with any of the below incidents, please contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or here. All calls are treated in the strictest confidence. You can also contact Dee Why Police Station 9971 3399.
Appeal for information
Arson, Mona Vale and Balgowlah, November 2024
Police investigating two separate arson attacks, and while they might not be connected, Detectives are investigating both given the similarities.
About 10.30pm on 3 November 2024, two male offenders threw Molotov cocktails into the verandah of a Mona Vale home that caused an awning to catch fire. The female resident happened to be relaxing on the verandah at the time and suffered burns to her face and ears. She was treated at the Royal North Shore Hospital Burns Unit and discharged and recovering at home. (Manly Observer reported on this in more detail here).
The second incident occurred about 11pm on 6 November 2024 at Balgowlah. A woman was home with her child when she looked out a window to investigate a loud noise. She saw a man throw a bottle at her door. Police were called and located two bottles believed to contain accelerant however they did not ignite. No one was injured and no property was damaged.
Detectives and Crime Scene examiners attended both locations and scoured for forensic evidence. Investigators have not been able to connect the two beyond the obvious similarities.
Northern Beaches Detectives established Strike Force Gatcombe to investigate both arson attacks.
The terrifying ordeals resulted in two shaken households and police are appealing for anyone with information about the attacks to contact Dee Why Police Station (9971 3399) or Crime Stoppers (1800 333 000).
Anonymous information can also be submitted online via the Crime Stoppers website.
Rock thrown at B Line bus at Balgowlah, 9 November 2024
About 2am on 9 November 2024, police believe a person threw a rock at a B line bus travelling south on the Burnt Bridge Creek Deviation in Balgowlah.
The rock penetrated the windscreen and the 57 year old driver’s face was sprayed with shattered glass. He received minor cuts to his face and was not seriously injured. There were no other vehicles nearby and police have ruled out the rock being flicked up by another vehicle. The driver was returning to a bus depot and there were no passengers on board. This is an 80km/h zone and it was dark at the time. Thankfully the driver maintained control of the bus and pulled over safely.
Police arrived and conducted extensive patrols of the area including the Kitchener Street overpass but did not find anyone. The rock was recovered from inside the bus and seized by police for forensic examination.
A specific criminal offence exists for this dangerous act: ‘ Throwing rocks and other objects at vehicles and vessels’ Section 49A of the NSW Crimes Act. It carries a penalty of five years imprisonment. A serious offence for a serious matter.
Police are appealing for anyone with information about the incident to contact Dee Why Police Station (9971 3399) or Crime Stoppers (1800 333 000).
Arrests
Drug trafficking arrest at Manly, 2 November 2024
About 9.40pm on 2 November 2024, police patrolling The Crescent, Manly observed a suspicious transaction involving two men in a black Audi.
Police stopped and searched the occupants of the Audi and seized several grams of cocaine and cash.
A 51 year old man from Northmead was taken to Manly Police Station and charged with one count of Supply prohibited drug and one count of Deal with proceeds of crime.
He was granted conditional bail to appear at Manly Local Court on 13 November 2024.
Fraud
Email and banking fraud, 4 November 2024
On 4 November 2024, a Belrose woman received an email from her builder with an invoice attached for $21,500.
The email requested final payment for renovations and included details of the builder’s new bank account. The victim called her builder to confirm the invoice and discovered the invoice was fake and the builder’s email had been hacked.
Luckily the victim was alert and called to verify the invoice. She did not send money.
This type of fraud is known as Business Email Compromise and quite often the offenders are based overseas. Lost funds are rarely recovered.
