Category: MIL-OSI

Source: ACT Police

ACT Policing is urging drivers to slow down and put the phone away this Easter long weekend, with double demerits in place from Thursday 28 March to Monday 1 April.

With increased traffic on the roads, particularly on the Kings Highway as Canberrans head to the coast, motorists can expect to see police along busy routes.

Officer in Charge of Road Policing, acting Inspector Mark Richardson said busy roads were no excuse for dangerous driving.

“We would much rather you be delayed by a few minutes or even an hour, than have a crash,” Acting Inspector Richardson said.

“Road safety is everyone’s responsibility. That means slow down, overtake safely and pay attention to the road. Put the phone down because we want you to get to your destination safely. Help us do that by driving as safely as you can.”

Double Demerit points will apply in the ACT from Thursday, 28 March until Monday, 1 April 2024. For all speeding, not wearing a seatbelt, riding without a helmet and mobile phone offences, double the usual demerit points will apply, and as a further long-weekend road safety measure, an additional demerit point applies for all other traffic offences.

Source: ACT Police

ACT Policing is seeking the public’s assistance to identify a man who can assist police following a virtual kidnapping scam incident last year.

In August 2023, an international student residing in the ACT was targeted by scammers, resulting in a sum of money being paid.

Police would like to identify and speak with the man in the CCTV footage, which has been released today, who it is believed may be able to assist investigators with their ongoing enquiries.

The man is described as being of Asian background, and was wearing glasses, and a black suit and tie at the time the footage was captured.

Virtual kidnapping is a complex scam, often targeting international students, where scammers contact the victim by phone and typically impersonate a person of authority from their home country.

Scammers typically tell the victim they are linked to a crime and use information about the victim, either from social media or other sources, and fake documents to legitimise the scam. Eventually, scammers will convince the victim to leave their residence and demand money from the victim’s family.

Anyone who can identify the man, or who has any information in relation to this incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000, or on the Crime Stoppers ACT website. Please quote reference 7542162. Information can be provided anonymously.

You can find more information in relation to virtual kidnapping scams via our factsheet found here.

Source: ACT Police

ACT Policing is seeking witnesses and information from the public in relation to a home invasion in Gordon on Saturday, 23 March 2024.

About 7.30pm, a woman returned to her Gordon residence to find multiple people, possibly juveniles, in her home committing property damage.

A confrontation ensued, where the woman was assaulted by at least one of the intruders, before the group fled the scene.

Following the assault, the woman was transported to hospital with non life-threatening injuries.

In addition to the assault and property damage, police suspect a number of items were also stolen from the home.

Police are investigating the circumstances of the incident, and are calling on information from the public to identify the people involved.

Anyone with information that could assist police is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000, or via the Crime Stoppers ACT website. Please quote reference number 7706913. Information can be provided anonymously.

Source: ACT Police

Good news, Canberra – the woman we sought to identify earlier today has since attended City Police Station and is assisting police with enquiries.

Thanks for your assistance.

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ACT Policing is seeking to identify a woman in relation to an alleged assault inside a Civic nightclub in the early hours of Friday, 22 March 2024.

About 2am, police allege the woman, in the company of a 20-year-old Narrabundah woman and a 22-year-old Bonner woman, assaulted two other women in the upper level of Mooseheads Nightclub.

The trio then attempted to flee the club, but the 20-year-old woman and the 22-year-old woman were detained by security staff.

They were subsequently arrested and have both been charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm and common assault.

Police are now seeking to identify the other woman involved in the alleged assault.

She is described as Caucasian in appearance, with a fair complexion, heavy build, and dark hair. She was wearing a black top, dark pants, and black and white shoes at the time of the alleged assault.

Anyone who can identify the woman, or who may have information in relation to the alleged assault, is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000, or via the Crime Stoppers ACT website. Please quote reference number 7705459. Information can be provided anonymously.

Source: ACT Police

The ACT has recorded its second road fatality for 2024 following a collision between a car and a cyclist this afternoon.

About 2.30pm today (Wednesday, 20 March 2024), police responded to reports of a grey BMW sedan colliding with a cyclist on Lady Denman Drive, adjacent to the Glenloch interchange.

Emergency services treated a 36-year-old woman at the scene before they were transported to the Canberra Hospital in a critical condition.

Sadly, she was declared deceased soon after.

The driver of the BMW is assisting police with their enquiries.

ACT Road Policing’s Major Collision Team is investigating the circumstances of the collision and a report will be prepared for the Coroner.

Anyone who witnessed the incident or who may have dash cam footage relating to the incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or via theCrime Stoppers ACT website. Please quote reference P2241507.

Source: ACT Police

UPDATE as at 11.30am, Thursday 11 April 2024

On 10 April, 2024, Operation TORIC officers executed a search warrant on the green Holden Commodore seized from the hotel where the two suspects were arrested on 9 April. Inside the vehicle, police allegedly located:

• Approximately 90 grams of methamphetamine
• Approximately 20 grams of heroin
• A small amount of cannabis
• A drink bottle containing fluid suspected to be GHB
• A knuckle duster style weapon with a spring loaded blade.
• Approximately $23,000 in cash
• A large number of prescription medications
• Muscle building drugs and testosterone gel
• Mobile phones, drug scales, and written records suspected to record the sale of drugs.

Police also allegedly recovered property suspected to be stolen, including a suitcase containing an extensive coin collection, jewellery and watches, a Dyson vacuum cleaner, a small safe containing Australian coins, and a large number of international currencies. Additional Australian coins in paper rolls were also located.

If you believe any item recovered is yours and you can provide proof of ownership, please contact police on 131 444.

Further charges against the offenders involved in this matter are expected.

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A man and a woman have been charged with multiple driving and drug offences after a stolen car crashed into the front of a home in Crace last week.

About 8.00pm last Wednesday (3 April 2024) police and emergency services were called to a home in Crace after a stolen Mercedes GLC63 collided with the front of a home – causing significant damage to the building.

A man and a woman were observed fleeing the vehicle immediately after the collision. People inside the home at the time of the collision were not physically injured.

Witnesses followed the man and woman, with some recording the man on their mobile phones as he ran away. Bags that had allegedly been carried by the man were located on nearby rooftops by police and were found to contain approximately $10,000 in cash, a small quality of illicit substances and a ‘taser’.

About 9.00pm the same night, the man allegedly entered a home in Cocopara Crescent in Crace, where he entered the kitchen and demanded car keys and a phone from a resident. The resident complied with his demands and the man left in an orange Ford Fiesta. Soon after, police observed the Ford driving at excessive speed through the intersection of Barton Highway and Gundaroo drive.

Based on information obtained by police, a 35-year-old man and 33-year-old woman were identified and efforts were made to locate the pair.

The stolen Ford Fiesta was located by police in Flynn on the evening of Thursday, 4 April 2024.

The man and woman were subsequently located yesterday afternoon (Tuesday, 9 April 2024) in a hotel in Braddon by Operation TORIC members. Both were arrested, with the man allegedly found in possession of approximately $8900 in cash, approximately 8.6 grams of heroin and approximately 25 grams of methamphetamine.

A green Holden Commodore was also seized at the scene for further forensic analysis.

The 35-year-old man of no fixed address was charged with multiple offences including two counts of driving a stolen motor vehicle, two counts of dangerous driving, two counts of damage property, trafficking in an illicit substance, burglary, theft, taking motor vehicle without consent, driving while disqualified, possessing an offensive weapon, and resisting a territory official.

The 33-year-old Mawson woman was charged with riding in a stolen motor vehicle.

The man and woman are expected to appear in the ACT Magistrates Court today (Wednesday, 10 April 2024) where bail will be opposed.

Source: ACT Police

Between 25 March and 5 April, 2024, the ACT Joint Anti-Child Exploitation Team (JACET) conducted a number of search warrants across Canberra targeting sexual offending.

One of these warrants saw a 26-year-old Downer man arrested and charged with child abuse material offences.

In February 2024, ACT JACET received a report about child abuse material being accessed from an account allegedly linked to the man.

On Thursday, 4 April 2024, police executed a search warrant at the man’s residence in Downer where he was arrested. During this warrant, police seized several electronic devices which allegedly contained child abuse material.

The man faced court on Friday, 5 April charged with three offences – possess child abuse material, fail to report as a registerable offender, and using a carriage service to transmit child abuse material.

Another of these warrants saw a 52-year-old Curtin man summonsed to appear before court in relation to the cultivation of cannabis, possession of a firearm, and possession of cash suspected to be the proceeds of crime.

Detective Inspector Stephanie Leonard from ACT Policing’s Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Team said police continue to target child abuse material and other sexual offending in the community.

“We understand that these matters are sensitive for victims, but I would encourage anyone with information about this type of offending to make a report to police,” Detective Inspector Leonard said.

“Police take all reports of this nature seriously and will investigate them to the fullest extent possible.

“If you have been a victim of a sexual crime, please report that to police. There is no statute of limitations for sexual offences in the ACT – it doesn’t matter how much time may have passed and it is never too late to report.”

Members of the public who have any information about people involved in the possession or sharing of child exploitation material are urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

You can also make a report online by alerting the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation via the Report Abuse button at www.accce.gov.au/report.

Note to media: USE OF TERM ‘CHILD ABUSE MATERIAL’, NOT ‘CHILD PORNOGRAPHY’ 

Use of the phrase “child pornography” benefits child sex abusers because it:

• indicates legitimacy and compliance on the part of the victim and therefore legality on the part of the abuser; and

• conjures images of children posing in ‘provocative’ positions, rather than suffering horrific abuse.

Every photograph captures an actual situation where a child has been abused. This is not “pornography”.

Note for journalists: Vision associated with these warrants can be downloaded from Hightail. (This link will expire in seven days.)

Source: ACT Police

ACT Policing is seeking to identify three people who assisted a man on Alinga Street, Canberra City around 4.08am on Good Friday (29 March 2024).

Two of the people captured in the CCTV images are believed to have organised an Uber ride for the man.

The third person handed property belonging to the man to City Police Station at 4.50am that same morning.

It is believed these people may have crucial information that can assist ACT Policing’s Major Collision Team who are investigating a serious collision that occurred at 5.46am on Friday, 29 March 2024, outside The Lodge, Deakin.

Police would ask these three people to contact police on 131 444, or to visit their nearest police station.

Anyone else who witnessed the incident, or who may have dash-cam footage from the area at the time of or around the time of the incident, is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or via the Crime Stoppers ACT website. Please quote reference number 7711483.

Source: ACT Police

A 30-year-old NSW man has been charged with multiple offences following a burglary in Fyshwick in the early hours of this morning (Monday, 8 April 2024).

About 2.23am, police received reports of a burglary occurring at a store on Newcastle Street, Fyshwick.

Upon arrival, police were notified by on-site security that the man in a green Mazda, believed to be responsible for the burglary, had rammed their vehicle, before taking off in the Mazda.

A short time later, police observed the Mazda in bushland a short distance away, allegedly full of stolen property from the store including several tools.

The man then allegedly ran from the vehicle and jumped over a nearby fence in an attempt to run away from police, before he was located shortly after and arrested.

The man was subsequently charged with burglary, theft, using an unregistered vehicle, dangerous driving, numberplate issued for another vehicle, and unlawfully possessing stolen property. He is expected to face the ACT Magistrates Court today.

Source: ACT Police

ACT Policing is seeking witnesses to a road rage incident on Friday night that started on the Monaro Highway, Hume and ended in a physical altercation in Greenway.

About 8.45pm on Friday (5 April 2024) police were called to an altercation between two men in a driveway between apartment buildings on Anketell Street and Oakden Street in Greenway (Tuggeranong Town Centre).

It is alleged the altercation was as a result of a traffic incident that occurred between the two men whilst driving their vehicles along the Monaro Highway.  

Police are now seeking witnesses to the following:

• A silver coloured Ford Laser sedan and a red coloured Hyundai i30 hatchback being driven erratically on the Monaro Highway at Hume, continuing into Isabella Drive and concluding in Anketell Street, Greenway prior to 8.45pm on Friday.
• Two men fighting in a driveway adjacent the apartment blocks at 325 Anketell Street and 35 Oakden Street in Greenway.

Anyone who can assist police (including anyone that has dash-cam footage of the vehicles between Hume and Greenway or any residents that witnessed the physical altercation) is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000, or via theCrime Stoppers ACT website. Please quote 7717760.