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Visitor bailed, faces court for unlawful van taking

Wednesday 2 July 2025 | Written by Talaia Mika | Published in Court, National

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Visitor bailed, faces court for unlawful van taking

A 22-year-old male visitor, who was caught with a stolen van over the weekend, was released on Monday and is scheduled to appear in court this Thursday to face a charge of unlawful taking.

According to police media and strategic advisor, Trevor Pitt, the alleged offender was bailed on Monday and will appear in court on Thursday, July 3.

The 22-year-old driver was arrested and remanded into custody early Sunday morning.

The individual was apprehended while driving a van that had previously been reported stolen.

“The suspect charged is from New Zealand. He is expected to be bailed today (Monday).” Pitt told Cook Islands News on Monday.

In an earlier statement, police said they received a complaint at 4:36am regarding the unlawful taking of the van from Avatiu.  At the time of the report, a police checkpoint was active but was temporarily disrupted to allow officers to track the stolen vehicle.  The van was subsequently sighted by officers near the Social Centre beach and was successfully stopped. The male driver was then brought to Police Headquarters for processing.

On Saturday, police received reports of two theft incidents. In one case, a tourist had gone swimming, leaving their beachside accommodation open, and their phones and cards were reported stolen.

According to Pitt, theft is a frequent crime targeting tourists who leave their belongings unattended.

“It’s unfortunate that tourists are continuing to bear the brunt of criminal behaviour, especially thieves.”

An attempted break-in occurred on Sunday at a beachside tourist accommodation at Tikioki.

Police also received complaint of a break-in at an accommodation facility in Matavera on Sunday night. Police were called to the scene after 9pm, and there were three suspects who were sighted in the facility but escaped. Items stolen included phones, iPad and alcohol.

One man was arrested on Saturday after a blood test confirmed he was driving with excess alcohol. Another man was remanded into prison following a request for support from Probation Services.

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