Marine gear targeted in Napier thefts

The warm summer has been a good one for boaties in Napier but it has also seen a slight spike in thefts of marine gear.

Among 11 recent burglaries reported across the Onekawa and Pandora industrial areas three involved boating equipment - with one involving an overnight break-in of a fishing boat moored off West Quay which netted the thieves a haul of about $50,000 worth of gear.

"Offenders have had a rifle around and have damaged the mast and stolen a significant amount of gear off the boat," Community Constable Mike Burne said.

The thieves targeted the boat's GPS antenna, diving equipment, a satellite phone, air horns as well as speed and temperature indicators.

Police were also alerted to the theft of a Suzuki DF6S outboard engine which was attached to a trailered boat on a property off Wakefield St in Onekawa.

It was one of two outboard engines reported stolen in the space of a week.

A yard off Leyland St was entered and a 10hp Johnson motor was taken along with a Yamaha TT90 off-road motorcycle.

Mr Burne said the motorcycle was later spotted for sale online.

Off-road machines were also the targets of thieves who broke into a property at Turner Place in Onekawa.

A rear door was smashed to gain entry and two quad bikes along with a pit-lane bike with the number 46 on it taken.

A 1954 primer grey-coloured Massey Ferguson tractor was the target during a break-in at a Mersey St commercial property, along with general items of office furniture while thieves made off with an unregistered white caravan they hitched up to from a yard in Cadbury Rd.