A “trove” of stolen items from several other burglaries has been uncovered by police investigating the theft of medical equipment from an air ambulance helicopter earlier this month.
Drugs were stolen from the Queenstown-based rescue helicopter at North Taieri airfield after it had taken a critically ill patient to Dunedin Hospital on the weekend of January 11-12.
A 31-year-old man was arrested in Dunedin on January 15 in relation to the burglary of the air ambulance helicopter and two other burglaries.
Police executed a search warrant at a Dunedin address yesterday afternoon as a result of ongoing inquiries into the burglary.
Constable Ashley Wilson said the recovered stolen items were believed to have been taken during the burglaries of multiple commercial and residential properties in early January.
“Some property has been identified from stores including Torpedo Seven, Off the Chain Bike Shop, Chisholm Park Golf Shop, Cash Converters, and 2Degrees. Many other stolen items are yet to be identified and returned to their respective stores.
“A bag containing medical equipment was found in the large amount of stolen property, and it is believed all items in the bag have been recovered.”
Wilson said further charges were likely for the 31-year-old man after the results of the search warrant.
He is due to reappear on February 4 in Dunedin District Court.