Cash surprise found in book donated to Lifeline
Over the weekend of 8 and 9 December 2024, charity Northern Beaches Lifeline had a book drive and received books from the public.
Staff did routine checks of donations and located a book that was hollow and contained a large amount of cash.
On 10 December 2024, the Lifeline staff member handed the book in to Manly Police Station.
Inquiries are continuing to locate the owner of the book and cash.
Elsewhere on the beat last week:
About 3:00am on 7 December 2024, police on patrol saw a grey Porsche Cayenne travelling north on the Pacific Highway, St Leonards. It was in a convoy with two other cars.
Police signalled the Porsche to stop but it sped off and engaged police in a pursuit through Chatswood, Macquarie Park. The driver reached high speeds and the pursuit was terminated by police due to the excessive and dangerous speed. The Porsche was later seen in Toongabbie.
About 4:30am police attended the Clontarf home of the registered owner who checked his garage and confirmed the Porsche, and a BMW were stolen from his home earlier that morning.
The owner believes thieves broke into his home and stole the keys to both cars.
The Porsche was recovered at Northmead and the BMW at Kings Langley. Both cars were forensically examined for fingerprints and DNA. Detectives are investigating.
Smashed window in Frenchs Forest
About 9pm on 7 December 2024, someone threw a ceramic garden gnome through the window of a house at Frenchs Forest.
The victim informed police that, earlier in the day, he had a negative encounter with a nearby resident and suspects the damage might be connected. Police attended the scene and surveyed the damage to the window and blinds and seized the garden gnome for forensic examination.
The damage bill is estimated to be $1,800. Inquiries are continuing.
Bitcoin fraud
A Balgowlah resident responded to a text message claiming to be from Binance, which is a cryptocurrency exchange company.
The message stated the recipient’s crypto account had been comprised by someone in Romania and that they needed to transfer all their funds to a different crypto exchange. On 11 December 2024, the victim spoke to an offender by phone who guided them through a process which led to the victim transferring $2,000 to the offender’s (digital) wallet. The funds were wiped from the wallet soon after and the matter was reported to Binance and police.
The Binance website carries warnings about scams using its currency name and their advice includes ignoring suspicious external interactions. Scamwatch.gov.au is a good place to look for scam types and fraud prevention tips.
Crime Watch Northern Beaches is 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.
