A 29-year-old Hamilton man has been charged with theft of guns after a police raid at a Hamilton property on Monday afternoon, May 6.
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Detective Sergeant Mark James, of the Hamilton police crime investigation unit, said investigators and uniform police members were involved in executing a warrant at a Duke Avenue property at 2.30pm.
There they found ammunition, but not the stolen firearms.
The man was also arrested in relation to a series of thefts and attempted thefts from vehicles and burglaries allegedly committed in Hamilton last weekend.
Police allege the man was involved in the theft of firearms from a gun safe in a shed on the east side of Hamilton between the end of March and mid April.
The man has been charged with the theft of a shotgun and a high powered rifle, attempted theft from a vehicle and a burglary.
It's alleged the man stole cash from one vehicle and left his bag of tobacco in another car.
He was then allegedly disturbed at a third address trying to break into a motorhome, where he was chased off by a female resident.
The alleged burglary related to opening an unlocked gun safe in a shed but there were no firearms in that safe.
The theft of firearms related to theft from a gun safe in a shed but the keys are believed to have been stored in the shed.
Detective Sergeant James said the theft and attempted theft from vehicles was an ongoing issue for police, particularly in regional areas.
He said in the 10 years he had been a police member at Hamilton he did not once recall a theft from a locked vehicle.
"Vehicle owners are just providing an opportunity to thieves by leaving their vehicles unlocked," he said.
"I've never ever seen a theft from a locked vehicle. We keep hammering on about people locking their vehicles but they leave them unlocked and are then the victims of thefts.
"Please, please, please lock your vehicle and put valuables out of sight. Removing the opportunity goes a long way to preventing these crimes."
The arrested man who was interviewed, charged and remanded in custody overnight on Monday.
The case was filed in Warrnambool Magistrates Court the following day.
No application for bail was made and the man was remanded in custody to appear in the same court on August 23.
He already has two police briefs of evidence listed for hearing in the Hamilton Magistrates Court on May 22.
One is listed for a guilty plea hearing and he has a lengthy criminal record.
