Masked Cyclist Linked to String of Katikati Burglaries

Katikati Police are warning residents to be on the lookout for a male on a bicycle who has been carrying out burglaries across the town at varying hours. The offender is described as wearing a hoodie and a mask or balaclava. Police are asking anyone who spots suspicious activity to ring 111 immediately.

The warning comes after a busy second half of October for local officers. Among the incidents, the BP service station on Main Road was broken into twice in the early hours of 24 October, with a large quantity of goods taken on both visits. Maintenance sheds at Katikati College were also broken into overnight on 22 October, and tools were stolen from a shed at Katikati Primary School during a break-in at 5.48am the same day.

A male wearing a balaclava and hoodie was disturbed attempting to break into a vehicle on Ureta Drive on the night of 28 October. A resident confronted the offender but he escaped, leaving behind a bicycle police believe was stolen from a Noble Johnson Drive address two days earlier. The Challenge service station at Ōmokoroa was also targeted in an attempted burglary, with offenders trying repeatedly to smash windows before fleeing in a stolen Toyota Corolla. Two Tauranga youth, aged 14 and 16, were later arrested and appeared in the Youth Court in connection with that incident.

Among the other apprehensions during the period, a Katikati man and woman were arrested on 17 October for possession of methamphetamine for supply, and a 28-year-old Ōmokoroa woman faced seven counts of shoplifting and was remanded in custody.

Originally published in Katikati News (Sun Media).