A brazen group of thieves have stolen 45 brand-new, unregistered cars which had just arrived from Europe, including Mercedes-Benz vans and Skoda SUVs.
In what may be Australia’s largest-ever single incident of vehicle theft, a total of 45 brand-new cars have been stolen from a holding yard in Port Melbourne over a 15-hour period.
Between the hours of 3:00 pm Sunday 20 October and 6:30am Monday 21 October 2024, thieves made away with dozens of new vehicles – which had just arrived by sea – from a facility in Salmon Street.
Images show the unregistered vehicles – including Mercedes-Benz vans and Skoda SUVs – still wearing their protective plastic wrap, used to reduce scratches and stone chips during transit from their respective factories in Europe.
Victoria Police have released images of a dark grey or blue pre-facelift Toyota Prado 150 Series with a bullbar, dual round halogen spotlights, UHF aerial, passenger-side awning, and a solar panel fitted to a hardshell rooftop tent – believed to be Dune Nomad 140cm Deluxe Hardtop Tent sold by Anaconda, also branded as a Hard-Shell Rooftop Tent sold by Tough Gear Trading.
The Prado also features a distinctive small amber beacon in the centre of the roof.
Detectives from the Melbourne Crime Investigation Unit have already recovered three of the stolen vehicles, and currently have a 42-year-old Prahran woman in custody after being arrested in Broadmeadows.
Police are urging anyone who witnessed the incident or who may have relevant CCTV or dash cam footage to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report online by clicking here.
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