Tex Edwards’ stolen Lexus recovered by police: Who gets the $5000 reward?

Tex Edwards is about to be reunited with his ageing but talismanic Lexus IS 250 - for which he offered a $5000 reward after it was stolen in a break-in at his Grey Lynn home last week.

“Black Beauty Think Tank recovered! Car spotted by the police and drivers stopped,” the 2degrees founder told his social media followers this week.

This afternoon, Edwards told the Herald he was still waiting for police to release the vehicle. It was being fingerprinted.

So will he fork over the $5000 to his friends in blue? That’s enough for several dashboardfulls of donuts.

“The police won’t accept the reward, so I’m making a $5000 donation to a victim support charity run by Ruth Money,” Edwards said.

While the police deserve dibs for spotting the stolen vehicle, it has to be said it was a poor choice on the thieves’ part to drive it on the open road.

As well as a distinctive finish - a matte black wrap with an ice-white undercarriage - it has a giant “022″ decal on its roof, a parting gesture from colleagues when Edwards left 2degrees.

Although he has made a fortune from property development and telco ventures, Edwards has had an almost superstitious reluctance to sell his Lexus - which he bought on the day 2degrees finally secured financing, about 17 years ago.

Today, he was relieved he wouldn’t have to face a life of bad luck without it, though he added, “It will be interesting to see what the condition of the car is.”

He’s due to pick it up from a police lockup on Monday.

That will be two weeks from the heist.

“I woke up in the middle of the night, thinking the house seemed cold,” Edwards told the Herald on June 13.

The back door was open. The keys to his car had been taken from the kitchen table.

The vehicle was gone from outside his home, with his 6-year-old’s car seat inside it.

Tex Edwards' 17-year-old Lexus. Thieves broke into his Grey Lynn house and took the keys to the vehicle. Photo / Facebook

Despite the violation, Edwards said: “There are lots of people far worse off than me”.

He took to social media with a cash reward because he knew police already had their hands full. Insurer AMI recently said stolen vehicle claims rose 43 per cent last year across Auckland and Canterbury last year.

Many Facebook comments expressed sympathy and outrage, though some delivered a good-natured ribbing.

“Tell the police to look for the car full of coffee cups,” posted telco executive Martin Edge.

Edwards left 2degrees in 2016. He became one of the directors of Hawaiki Cable, which broke the then 50 per cent Spark-owned Southern Cross Cable’s monopoly on NZ’s broadband connection to the outside world.

Most recently, he has been campaigning for more competition in the building materials and supermarket sectors.

Last June, Edwards was appointed to Building and Construction Minister Megan Woods’ Gib crisis taskforce.

AMI’s 10 most stolen vehicles for NZ last year

1. Toyota Aqua
2. Mazda Demio
3. Nissan Tiida
4. Mazda Atenza (Mazda 6)
5. Toyota MarkX
6. Toyota Vitz
7. Subaru Legacy
8. Toyota Corolla
9. Subaru Impreza
10. Mazda Familia

Chris Keall is an Auckland-based member of the Herald’s business team. He joined the Herald in 2018 and is technology editor and a senior business writer.