Arrests linked to burglaries
Auckland Central Police have cleared out two apartments full of stolen property, resulting in four arrests.
In the process an excess of 80 stolen items, including 13 electric scooters, have been recovered by Police.
Auckland Central Area Commander Inspector Grant Tetzlaff says an investigation has been underway into a series of burglaries at businesses and apartments in the city over the past month.
On Wednesday morning, the City Tactical Crime Unit along with the Beat Team and Police Support Unit executed two search warrants.
“Operation Rocket homed in on two apartments within a Hobson Street complex,” Inspector Tetzlaff says.
“Inside our teams came across an Aladdin’s cave of stolen property and it’s going to take some time to work through where everything has come from.”
Amongst the find was 13 electric scooters, an assortment of power tools and other electronic valuables.
Some of the power tools have been linked to a North Shore burglary in 2019, Inspector Tetzlaff says.
Four people at the addresses have been arrested and charged.
“Charges laid at this point relate to two burglaries at a Wellesley Street business, and a Union Street apartment last month,” he says.
Those charged are two men, aged 28 and 36, and two women, aged 35 and 41.
A 28-year-old man has been charged with two counts of burglary. He has also been charged with the aggravated robbery of an electric scooter in January.
A 41-year-old woman faces two charges of burglary. The other two arrested face charges of receiving stolen property.
Separately, a 47-year-old woman was located during search warrants in possession of methamphetamine and charged accordingly.
“The team working on Operation Rocket are continuing with their enquiries and further charges cannot be ruled out at this stage,” Inspector Tetzlaff says.
“Burglary is a serious offence and brings with it a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment.
“It’s a fantastic outcome as our team continue to work hard in holding this offending to account.”
Those charged are now before the Auckland District Court.
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Auckland City Hospital's newly expanded and upgraded adult emergency department opened its doors to patients earlier this morning, with a new triage area, added waiting areas, and additional consult rooms.
The upgrade construction cost about $9 million, taking about a year to complete, and now had a total ground floor area of 600 square metres - which was double that of the old ED, according to Health NZ's northern area head of infrastructure Chris Cardwell.
Health Minister Simeon Brown opened the new ED in a ribbon-cutting ceremony alongside representatives from Health NZ, Ngati Whatua, doctors and nurses.
"Prior to expansion, Auckland City Hospital's ED was cramped and outdated, with no additional space to create new rooms.
"Lack of clinical space, and a waiting area that was too small to accommodate the high volumes of patients, was contributing to an environment that was not optimal for those needing emergency care," Brown said.
Brown said a fit-for-purpose ED was essential for any hospital, particularly a high-demand ED like Auckland City Hospital's - which saw about 80,000 patients a year.
"The upgraded ED will feature a new reception, waiting area, clinical triage, consult rooms, and staff base, as well as improved designated drop off and parking areas and a new ambulance entry, this includes improved access to the adjacent Starship Children's ED," he said.
The service clinical director for adult ED, Mark Fredrickson, said the new space would make a big difference for staff and patients, from both a safety and healthcare perspective.
"If you saw our previous waiting room that we'd had, it was a very compact, overcrowded area which creates overcapacity.
"A lot of poor interactions between patients and our staff, and just not a very pleasant and safe environment for staff to be in," he said.
Fredrickson said he was hoping the new space would reduce the amount of patients being stuck in ED.
He said while the upgraded space may not fix all the issues, he expected it would improve things in a challenging healthcare system.
When asked whether the hospital will get additional staffing for the ED, Fredrickson said that was yet to be determined.
"We're working with Health NZ to get more staff over time, kind of, we need to embed our processes in, to see how much efficiency gain do we get from it, and if we need more staff, we're going to ask for more staff," he said.
According to Health NZ's second quarter performance report for 2024/2025, which included October to December last year, 72.1% of patients at EDs across the country were being seen within six hours.
The report showed that for the Auckland central area, covering Auckland City Hospital, Starship Children's Hospital and Greenlane Clinical Centre, 68.4% patients at ED were seen within that timeframe.
The Government's target was for 95% of patients to be admitted, discharged or transferred from an ED within six hours by 2030.
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