Operation Bad Santa was likely named after a movie of the same name starring Billy Bob Thornton.
Operation Bad Santa was likely named after a movie of the same name starring Billy Bob Thornton.
A solo mother whose hard-earned Christmas presents were stolen from under her tree by a brazen burglar helped police capture the "Bad Santa" after she found her own property for sale on social media.
And the Herald on Sunday can now reveal how police had to unwrap all of thepresents under the alleged burglar's tree to see if it was stolen as his horrified family watched on.
On Friday a 23-year-old man appeared in the North Shore District Court charged with burglary after the break-in at the woman's Hillcrest home on December 14.
He allegedly broke into the home during the day while Angela, who did not want her surname published, was at work and her little boy at daycare.
Among the haul of stolen items was Angela's television, iPad, jewellery, alcohol and Christmas presents from under the tree.
A burglar allegedly stole this bike from under a solo mum's Christmas tree and gave it to his own child. Police raided his home and recovered the present. Photo/NZ Police
Police dubbed their investigation into the burglary Operation Bad Santa and were able to recover some of the pinched property including the bike Angela's son was supposed to get for Christmas.
The saga unfolded when Angela got a call from police in Mangere saying her passport had been handed in.
She initially thought they had made a mistake but the station was closed by the time she called them back.
"I'm a solo mum and I worked really hard to buy this stuff - then someone comes and takes it away.
The day after the burglary Angela decided to look on Trade Me and Facebook marketplace to see if her jewellery was being hocked off.
She soon found a bracelet she had been given when she was 21 - and when she looked at the seller's other listings, saw other items missing from her home.
"In one of the photos there was a little cocktail measuring cup that was mine," she said.
"In another picture there was a child in the background playing with a some toy cars and I remembered I had bought those for my son.
"I went 'oh my God' he's given my child's presents to his own kid.
"I got really mad, you just can't go around taking other people's things."
Angela sent police screenshots of the Facebook listings and they contacted her yesterday to say they had executed a search warrant at a South Auckland address and made an arrest.
"It was really awesome, I was so surprised," she said.
Police allege the 23-year-old had re-gifted the stolen items to his own family for Christmas.
As the alleged offender's horrified family watched on, officers unwrapped presents under his tree and sent photographs of the items to Angela to see if they were hers.
They also found her son's bike - which the 23-year-old had allegedly removed from the box, constructed and gifted to his child.
