A man has been extradited from Queensland following an investigation into rural theft offences allegedly committed in Mungindi last year.
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In April 2019 officers from the NSW Police Rural Crime Prevention Team at Moree launched Strike Force Wheaton in conjunction with Queensland police from St George CIB, in response to offences committed on numerous rural properties in the Mungindi, St George, Dirrranbandi and Thallon areas near the NSW/Queensland border.
In May last year, officers from the New England Police District (NSW) and the Darling Downs District (QLD) attended an address near Inglewood, where a then 31-year-old man attempted to flee from police on foot through a paddock.
He was arrested after a short struggle and taken to Warwick Watch House where he was charged with six counts of entering premises and committing an indictable offence and one count each of trespassing, stealing, possessing dangerous drugs and obstructing police.
NSW Rural Crime Investigators later applied for and were granted an arrest warrant for the man, while he remained in custody in Queensland.
At 3.30pm on Tuesday, July 14, a 32-year-old man was arrested by Queensland Police officers at a location in Toowoomba at the request of NSW Police.
An application for the man's extradition was granted by the Toowoomba Magistrate's Court on Wednesday.
The man was taken to Boggabilla Police Station and charged with 'Steal motor vehicle', 'Police pursuit - not stop - drive dangerously (second+ offence)', 'Drive whilst disqualified', 'Possess property stolen outside NSW' and a revocation of parole warrant in relation to a previous matter.
The man was refused bail to appear at Inverell Local Court on Thursday, July 16.
NSW State Rural Crime Coordinator, Detective Inspector Cameron Whiteside said this arrest should serve as a warning to other would-be offenders.
"The Rural Crime Prevention Team continue to work closely with our counterparts in neighbouring jurisdictions, with this arrest serving as a reminder to offenders that state borders won't prevent us from apprehending those that target our rural communities.
"We maintain a zero-tolerance approach for all crimes committed against our rural communities, and this is another example highlighting the capability of your local police disrupting criminals that prey on our regional communities."
