Masterton police net stolen hoard

Constable Joe Nelly with some of the stolen property recovered from a Lansdowne property yesterday. PHOTO/LYNDA FERINGA

A "fantastic" burglary breakthrough in Masterton could see hundreds of stolen items returned to their rightful owners.

Police raided a Lansdowne house yesterday recovering thousands of dollars of stolen property, from TV sets to a wood splitter.

The breakthrough came after police visited the house to talk to the owner who had failed to turn up to court on another matter.

Inquiries lead to the discovery of cannabis at the house and a further search revealed a large haul of stolen goods.

Police spent much of yesterday at the house cataloguing the extent of stolen items.

Detective Sergeant Barry Bysouth said a "significant amount of property had been recovered, stolen from commercial and residential properties".

Police identified a television monitor - possibly from a break-in at Lakeview School - and bottles of wine from Gladstone Vineyard that had come from a warehouse in Masterton.

They also found a set of keys from Wairarapa College that had been stolen from a shed on the grounds.

Mr Bysouth said police would know more about where the stolen property came from in the next few days and didn't want to speculate before talking to possible victims.

"I could run off a list of over 10 burglaries but we need to speak to the victims first."

He did say some of the property may have been stolen from Riversdale Beach.

Stolen property included a log splitter, a dirt bike, bicycles, a surfboard, tools, cameras, TVs, a weed eater, computers, a welding grinder, a router, a lawn mower, a scrub cutter, and cricket gear.

"It's fantastic for local residents, they need to have faith that we will work for them and recover what we can - the treasured items that people have lost," Mr Bysouth said.

A 40-year-old man will appear in Masterton District Court today.