Riku van Tonder with Detective Senior Sergeant Ian Foster and the recovered stolen bow at the Hamilton police station. Photo / NZ Police
Riku van Tonder with Detective Senior Sergeant Ian Foster and the recovered stolen bow at the Hamilton police station. Photo / NZ Police
Waikato police hit the mark this month when officers recovered stolen archery items during a warrant.
The items - a bow, arrows, quiver, sight, and other accessories worth over $12,000 - belong to Riku van Tonder, an archer who spent 20 hours preparing them for an international competition.
Thearchery equipment was in van Tonder’s Amarok ute, which was also stolen from a Hamilton home in the early hours of April 30.
Van Tonder was days away from departing for China for a competition when he discovered that the items were gone.
A lot of work goes into preparing the equipment for a competition: an hour per arrow. Van Tonder spent at least 20 hours in preparation before they were stolen.
“It takes about two or three months to get the set up ready to compete in international tournaments,” he said.
Hamilton resident Riku van Tonder spends about an hour preparing each arrow before tournaments. Photo / NZ Police
“The bow is the hard part to replace. I can buy all the gear again but it’s the time to set up and get all the bow and arrows ready,” van Tonder said.
He said he usually wouldn’t leave his gear in the ute, but bracing for a big week of work he had hoped to practice at the archery range during his break.
“I did have a back up kit but the arrows were the big blow as I had to build 24 from scratch, so it was rough trying to get those done.”
On May 9, Waikato’s tactical crime unit executed a series of warrants in Hamilton with the assistance of the armed offenders squad, relating to burglary offending.
Police located the stolen bow and arrows along with several other items, and an imitation pistol.
Two people were arrested at the property on an unrelated burglary and a warrant to arrest.
Officers managed to get hold of van Tonder the same day, to inform him that the items had been located.
Van Tonder said it had been “wonderful” to hear his items were recovered.
”This is the stuff you can’t replace. It’s quite special, especially the bow, and it’s a great result ... I was so relieved.”
“We know it is not only the cost of replacing property that hurts people, but the unseen, irreplaceable, sentimental value of stolen items.
“It was very rewarding for the team to be able to recover the bow and arrows and hear about the time and effort that goes into setting it up and building the arrows.”
