Silent thieves target GPS systems

THIEVES on the prowl for GPS navigation systems have broken into 14 motor vehicles at two Coffs Harbour resorts making away with the in-car devices.

Cars left parked outside the Opal Cove and Pacific Bay resorts were broken into at the weekend, with a host of hotel guests waking to find their car windows were smashed.

Police say they cannot believe the people responsible for the smash and grabs didn’t get caught in the act.

“It seems they have avoided security patrols,” Coffs Clarence Police Supervisor Andy Herman said.

“But you would think that someone would have heard something with all that glass getting smashed, particularly if it was late at night or early morning?”

The spate of break-ins occured under the cover of darkness in dimly lit areas of the carparks sometime between 6.30pm on Saturday and 6am yesterday.

“This is one of the largest crime sprees we have seen of this nature here in the Coffs Clarence Command,” acting Sergeant Herman said.

“It is clear the perpetrators have preyed on visitors and tourists to the city, but it should serve as a timely reminder to everyone that you just cannot leave items in your cars in full view, even if the doors are locked,” he said.

Auto glass repair companies say they’ve recently seen a spike in car windows smashed by thieves.

“In particular they are breaking side glass or rear quarter windows. They tend to use rocks in isolated beach carparks, but in busier areas tools, such as screwdrivers or hammers are used to crack the glass,” Adam Hardcastle of Windscreens O’Brien said.

Members of the public who saw anyone acting suspiciously near Opal Cove or Pacific Bay are urged to contact Coffs Harbour detectives. Else-where, intruders stole a GPS, 60 compact discs, fishing gear and a speaker from a Honda Accord at the Waterside Gardens Caravan Park at Bonville.