Police are hunting brazen thieves who are stealing cash from self-serve car washes across the western suburbs, including in Wyndham.
Sergeant Andrew Button, of the Melton crime investigation unit, warned locals to keep an eye out for the thieves, who are targeting car washes at Melton, Werribee and Caroline Springs, and as far afield as Gisborne.
In Wyndham, two car washes at Hoppers Crossing and one at Point Cook were struck either late on January 5 or in the early hours of January 6.
“We’ve noticed a series of break-ins at car washes where people are trying to steal loose change from coin tins,” Sergeant Button said. “We think the crimes are possibly related.”
He declined to comment on the nature of investigations but said they had identified a number of leads, which police are chasing up.
They believe about three men, all in their early 20s, are involved in the
thefts.
“They try to gain access to the [coin] machines and cause a lot of damage to the different machines and coin mechanisms in the process.”
Sergeant Button said the spree started last month and the thieves had already broken into 10 car washes, sometimes striking the same premises twice.
“They’re mostly opportunistic crimes, happening at night or in the early hours of the morning,” he said.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
