A police operation in Melbourne's east has seen a Toyota HiLux and a Hyundai i30 recovered, with alleged thieves arrested.
A two-day police operation in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs in recent weeks led to the recovery of two allegedly stolen vehicles, four sets of allegedly stolen licence plates, and five arrests.
Police footage shows two men driving erratically in a HiLux that was allegedly stolen from the Narre Warren railway station. The pair were arrested after punctured tyres forced them to leave the HiLux and attempt to flee over a fence.
The arrests and recoveries were part of Operation Advance, reoccurring police operation that covers the Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Manningham, Monash, Whitehorse and Boroondara.
January 2022-September 2025 – monthly car thefts in Manningham, Monash, Whitehorse and Boroondara LGAs
The population of each LGA is different, with the more populous of the four LGAs also having higher rates of motor vehicle theft.
According to 2024 Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates, populations of each LGA tally 209,268 in Monash, 183,462 in Whitehorse, 178,008 in Boroondara, and 131,761 in Manningham.
Operation Advance is run semi-regularly and involves a number of police ‘saturating’ the LGAs over successive evenings, while the Victoria Police Air Wing provides support from above.
Similar operations run across other local government areas of Melbourne, such as:
Of the other three people arrested during the recent operation, one was a female driver who attempted to evade police in a vehicle with no licence plates, and another was a speeding male driver who failed to stop for police but was subsequently arrested.
No details were released regarding the third person.
The pair of 36-year-old men who allegedly stole the Toyota HiLux were charged with a variety of offences including theft of motor vehicle, theft from car, going equipped to steal, handling stolen goods, possessing methylamphetamine and other traffic-related offences.
Max is the News Publishing Coordinator for Drive. He enjoys creating engaging digital content, including videos, podcasts, interactive maps, and graphs. Prior to Drive, he studied at Monash University and gained experience working for various publications. He grew up playing Burnout 3: Takedown on the PS2 and was disappointed when real life car races didn’t have the same physics.
