$36k thief nabbed with Kiwi ingenuity

Kiwi ingenuity and a simple hidden camera were used to catch a thief who allegedly stole more than $36,000. Photo / Martin Sykes

An Auckland couple - unhappy with the initial police response - used Kiwi ingenuity and a simple hidden camera to catch a thief who allegedly stole more than $36,000.

Brendan and Ineke Lindsey were staying with relatives in Epsom, after returning home from living in Dubai, and had stashed about US$30,000 ($42,300) behind a set of drawers.

But when Mr Lindsey went to get the cash to bank it, about US$26,000 ($36,750) was gone.

He said he phoned police but was told that because there was no evidence of a break-in and it was probably "an inside job", the force would not send an officer.

"You can imagine how we were feeling, trying to set up a life back in New Zealand and a fair chunk of what was to be our deposit for our home had been stolen, and then to be told by the police that they wouldn't even pay us a visit," said Mr Lindsey, who worked in construction while in the Middle East.

"I felt incredibly pissed off that someone out there was running around having the time of their life with about 40k of my money that I had spent several prime years of my life to earn, working six days a week, 12 hours a day in the blistering heat of the desert."

The Lindseys set out to determine who could have stolen the cash.

"Whoever had taken the money, for some reason only took half of it, and I was pretty sure if it was the cleaner she would go straight back there for the rest," said Mr Lindsey.

They set up a camera in their bedroom, focused on the drawers, and hid in the garage, watching on their laptop.

The cleaner, thinking no one was home, headed straight for the rest of the money.

The Lindseys phoned police, telling them there was a burglar in their house and that they were hiding.

As Mrs Lindsey stayed on the line with the operator, her husband locked the front door and then confronted the cleaner as she came down the stairs.

Mr Lindsey told the cleaner: "We know what you've done. We've called the police and you're going to have to stay here."

A couple of minutes later, a patrol car arrived and arrested the cleaner who, he said, immediately admitted taking the money.

The couple, who are staying with Mr Lindsey's grandparents, later discovered that the cleaner had bought a $17,000 Ford Falcon XR6 and spent other cash at SkyCity casino.

The car was transferred into Mr Lindsey's name as part-reparation and he and his wife received $7000 back in cash.

Mrs Lindsey said that though the police had been busy when first called, they had been "just fantastic" following the arrest.

A woman is to appear in Auckland District Court on Thursday.

Yesterday, police would not comment on the case.