Police question public in hunt for stolen medals

( L to R) Capt Charles Upham V.C., Major-General Howard Kippenberger and Sgt J.D. Hinton V.C.

Civilian and military police were today continuing their questioning of the public as they search for the 100 military medals stolen at the weekend.

A total of 24 military police officers have been diverted from exercises in Levin to Waiouru and will be going door-to-door this afternoon.

Police have said they confident that "items of interest" left in the Waiouru Army Museum will identify the thieves responsible for the heist of 100 of the nation's most valued war medals.

The officer in charge of the case would not elaborate on the items last night, except to say that they are "both forensic and physical" and were expected to "assist the investigation greatly".

"I'm confident that the offenders will probably be identified from the items that we've located," Detective Senior Sergeant Chris Bensemann said.

He said phone calls to an 0800 number set up in the wake of the Sunday morning heist had also provided firm leads and, although he was not sure of the number of calls, he said the public had provided a lot of information.

"They feel strongly about what's happened and they want to see this solved and so do we."

There are now between 35 and 40 officers working on the case and forensic teams hope to finish their examination of the crime scene today.

The museum will remain closed but police have promised to provide a tour of the plundered Valour Alcove to the media to allow the public to see the damage caused by the thieves.

Two of three reinforced glass cases in the alcove were smashed, and all the medals stolen from one. Only a few medals were left in the second smashed case.

The medals taken include two George Medals, an Albert Medal and nine Victoria Crosses, including the medal and bar awarded to double VC recipient, Captain Charles Upham.

Police plan to speak to everyone in Waiouru about the theft and began an area canvas of the town yesterday afternoon.

Mr Bensemann said officers would start with people in the business area, and then move to residential areas, including army residential areas, before beginning a wider questioning of people who had travelled through Waiouru around the time of the theft.

Mr Bensemann said the inquiry was the busiest he had worked on, with media calls coming in from around New Zealand and the world, and a vast amount of information from the public and investigators to sift through.

Police were still reviewing CCTV footage from the Valour Alcove and Mr Bensemann was reluctant to reveal details of what was on the tapes.

He said doing so now could compromise the investigation, although it was possible more information would be released in a couple of days.

He refused to comment on whether the police had suspects, saying he was still keeping an open mind about whether the theft was carried out by a person acting alone or a group, and whether whoever was responsible was from New Zealand or from overseas.

But he said police were "interested in any movements of those offenders". "They've got to have travelled to Waiouru and they've got to have left Waiouru."

Families of several Victoria Cross recipients criticised the museum's security after the theft but a spokesman from Defence Force headquarters in Wellington last night said the level of security had matched the assessed level of risk.

Lieutenant-Colonel Mike Shatford said he understood the hurt and anger of the families, but the thieves were highly motivated and professional, and the theft well-planned.

CAN YOU HELP?

Police are appealing for anyone who was in Waiouru or passed through the town in the early hours of Sunday morning to contact them on 0800 Valour