Four young men were arrested after allegedly stealing a car from Seaforth on Sunday.
At 3:40am on Sunday 22 December 2024, offenders broke into a Seaforth home and stole a black MG SUV. The MG was used in a car jacking at Doonside later that morning and offenders stole a Toyota Corolla. The driver of the Corolla was threatened with a rifle.
The offenders tried to steal another car but a terrified driver drove off and avoided the thieves.
About 7.30am that morning, offenders were captured on CCTV using credit cards at Westpoint Blacktown that were stolen from the Seaforth home.
At 2:00pm on the same day, Blacktown police tracked movements and arrested four males at a Blacktown shopping centre. The stolen MG and Corolla were located nearby.
Two offenders were aged 17 and the other two were 21 and 22. They were charged with offences including Aggravated break and enter and commit serious indictable offence, Steal motor vehicle, Dishonestly obtain property by deception and Robbery while armed with dangerous weapon.
Three offenders were refused bail and will appear at Parramatta Children’s Court on 21 February 2025, Parramatta Local Court on 20 February 2025 and Surry Hills Children’s Court on 26 February 2025.
The fourth offender was granted conditional bail to appear at Parramatta Local Court on 13 February 2025.
Elsewhere on the beat:
Drug affected man in break and enter in Manly
About 9:30am on Monday 23 December 2024, a 43 year old offender entered a property at Spring Cove Avenue, Manly with an unknown accomplice who waited outside.
The offender stole property while the owner was home. The owner alerted neighbours after seeing the offender flee. The offender stole an ebike from the garage of the premises and tried to leave but was stopped and arrested by other residents. The offender assaulted two of his captors. Police responded and the offender was arrested and found to be carrying some of the proceeds of his crime. Police surrounded the area to search for the accomplice with support from a police helicopter but he managed to get away.
The 43 year old offender from Glebe was taken to Manly Police Station and charged with eight offences including Aggravated break and enter commit serious indictable offence, Larceny, Common assault and Possess prohibited drug. He was refused bail and will appear at Downing Centre Local Court on 18 February 2025.
Inquiries are continuing into the second offender.
Teens smash bus
About 8.30pm on 22 December 2024, a bus driver noticed two teenage boys enter his bus at the Manly Wharf stand at Belgrave Street. The driver noted the teenagers were holding a case of beer and an opened bottle. The driver was concerned about the other passengers, including other children, and instructed the individuals to disembark.
The teenage boys initially moved to the rear of the bus, but the driver refused to proceed and turned off the bus. He stepped out of his seat and addressed the individuals telling them everyone was waiting for them to get off. After some resistance, the teenagers got off the bus and one of them became aggressive and kicked the rear exit door and smashed a glass panel.
The offenders ran off toward Sydney Road. A number of people witnessed the incident and provided information to police. The bus CCTV footage of the incident will be used to help identify the offenders. Police are investigating.
Binance cryptocurrency fraud
On 12 December 2024, a Manly resident received a text message from Binance stating: “You have signed in from Istanbul Turkey. If this was not authorised by you, please call us on…”. The victim called a phone number and spoke to someone pretending to be from Binance who offered to help the victim with his account that was allegedly hacked.
The victim was transferred to a second Binance employee who gave instructions on how to transfer his money, almost $7,000, to a ‘Trust Wallet’ to ensure it was not tampered with. The victim’s money was withdrawn by the offenders the following day. The alleged Binance staff did not return the victim’s calls.
We reported a similar fraud two weeks ago, only the alleged country of compromise was Romania, not Turkey. This sort of scam is often committed by offenders based overseas and victims rarely see their money again.
Police remind the community to be suspicious of unsolicited text messages.
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.
