Classic cars stolen in movie-style heist
Police compare it to Hollywood’s ‘Gone in 60 Seconds’. But there’s nothing entertaining for the owners of the Ford Thunderbird, Pontiac and BMW cars driven away by organised thieves. By Blair Ensor.
Kalon Andrews’ 1972 Mazda Rotary ute was his pride and joy.
He’d spent 13 years and tens of thousands of dollars restoring the vehicle – splashing out on new mags and a high-spec engine – and it was nearly roadworthy.
On August 10, Andrews, 32, planned to relocate the ute from his central Christchurch panel beaters, Andrews and Gilmore Collision Centre, to a new Wigram base.
However, as he was driving to the workshop a staff member called him with bad news.
Thieves had cut the lock to a roller door and stolen a 1965 Ford Thunderbird, a BMW Z4, a quad bike and his prized ute.
‘‘There were a lot of swear words,’’ he says.
Police had several weeks earlier begun an investigation into a growing number of car thefts from businesses in the city, including car yards, a car groomer’s and a garage.
They suspected many of the stolen cars were being ‘‘rebirthed’’ – stripped of identifying details, repainted and fitted with legitimate licence
plates and vehicle identification numbers, usually obtained from wrecks of the same make and model.
Police say rebirthers are organised, skilled and have a market in the street racing and boy racer community.
Each year thousands of vehicles are stolen in Christchurch alone, many more nationwide.
The burglary at Andrews and Gilmore earned the investigation the name Operation Eleanor, inspired by the name of the 1967 Shelby Mustang central to the 2000 film Gone in 60 Seconds which featured a gang of organised thieves who stole luxury cars for a crime boss.
Detectives investigating the theft at the panel beaters obtained security footage from businesses nearby which showed a group of men gathered on Colombo St about 2am on August 10. The footage shows the the Ford Thunderbird and BMW being driven away soon afterwards.
An hour and a half later, police allege, the group returned and took the Mazda ute and a quad bike.
Andrews was prepared to pay a $5000 reward if his ute was returned intact. Members of the car community responded with information, which he passed to the police.
Five days after the burglary, Andrews received a tip his ute
had been dumped in central Christchurch. It had been stripped of valuable parts, including the engine and mag wheels.
‘‘I was relieved that it wasn’t chopped up, but gutted to see how it’d been treated,’’ he says.
On September 13, detectives who searched a Belfast storage unit found a dismantled 1965 Pontiac Laurentian worth $80,000 that had been stolen on July 7.
That same day investigators who raided a property in the suburb of Redwood found 10 vehicles – seven of which were later confirmed as rebirthed stolen cars – and equipment used for dismantling and re-identifying cars.
Three men have been charged with an array of offences, including burglary, car theft and being part of an organised criminal group.
Police allege the men stole at least a dozen vehicles with a combined value of $400,000.
Andrews is happy the police operation has been successful.
However, as his ute wasn’t insured, he’s out of pocket tens of thousands of dollars. The restoration is back to square one.
The Ford Thunderbird and BMW were insured. The Ford was found without its original engine meaning it was no longer considered collectable. The BMW was intact but missing its keys.
Detective Sergeant Ross Tarawhiti urged car buyers to be vigilant when dealing with unlicensed sellers, particularly those trading online.
‘‘I was relieved that it wasn’t chopped up, but gutted to see how it’d been treated.’’ Kalon Andrews