Two people convicted of stealing property worth more than $57,000 from open homes in Auckland have been jailed.
Sharon Andrea Cann, 33, was sentenced to 18 months in prison and Edward Junior Waller, 28, received a three-year sentence when they appeared in the Auckland District Court yesterday.
The couple were found guilty of 26 charges each by a jury in October.
Police said Cann and Waller targeted homes mainly at the top end of the market, including one in Auckland's exclusive Paritai Drive, during a spree between June and September 2002.
They took mainly jewellery, although some small electrical appliances, DVDs and men's cologne were also stolen from homes.
Almost none of the jewellery has been recovered.
Detective Constable Peter Law, of Takapuna, said the couple picked suburbs with homes at the top end of the market, including Howick, Kohimarama, Glendowie and the Hibiscus Coast.
Some homeowners left valuable items out in the open, while others went to "extreme lengths" to hide them, said Mr Law.
The pair still managed to find the hiding places, he said.
Mr Law suggested vendors holding open homes remove any valuable or sentimental objects for safekeeping with relatives or friends.
The Real Estate Institute paid a private investigator $15,000 to help catch the thieves.
Institute professional standards manager Gordon Myer said the case's successful outcome would send out a message to criminals that homes for sale were no easy target.
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.
Latest from New Zealand
Lake Taupō Hospice fundraiser taps circus theme
The new event gives everyone the chance to get involved in fundraising for Taupō Hospice.