By ANEEKA SIMONIS
Six nabbed after high-speed chase across regional Victoria…
A CHASE across the state which ended in Lang Lang has uncovered stolen firearms including a revolver and shotgun, a large stash of methamphetamines, thousands of dollars in cash, stolen property and cars.
The pursuit spanning hundreds of kilometres involved several police vehicles, the police Air Wing and Dog Squad.
Some of the stolen loot has been traced back to crimes committed across Victoria, including the theft of a BMW stolen in Ballarat late last year and allegedly used in an armed robbery.
Six people aged between 20 and 26 – men from Kooweerup, Warragul, Tooradin, Narre Warren South and Geelong, and a Lang Lang woman – were arrested at the scene at 1pm on Friday 12 February.
They are facing a number of charges including armed robbery, aggravated burglary and drug trafficking.
The high-speed chase across regional Victoria began in Albury, 325 kilometres north of Melbourne, about 10.30am that morning following an alleged petrol drive-off.
Cardinia Crime Investigation Unit (CIU) Detective Sergeant Cole Beard said half the gang were chased in a stolen Holden Commodore with false numberplates.
The remaining three became embroiled in the drama when the stolen vehicle, with police hot on its tail, swooped into town.
The occupants of the stolen vehicle scattered after stopping out the front of a unit in Salisbury Street, Lang Lang – a stone’s throw from the local primary school.
The three others, who were believed to have been inside the unit at the time, also fled the site on foot.
Sgt Beard said they spread out throughout the town and jumped residential fences in an attempt to avoid police capture.
All were apprehended within 30 minutes.
One of the males was left with significant elbow and arm injuries while he attempted to flee a police dog.
He was taken to Casey Hospital and later moved on to Dandenong Hospital to undergo plastic surgery.
Police who searched the scene uncovered nine firearms including a revolver in the Lang Lang unit, a shotgun in the stolen Commodore and several other longarms in the stolen BMW.
Sgt Beard said the guns were stolen from a semi-rural property in Skye days before the incident.
In addition to the firearms, police found a significant quantity of ice, cannabis, several thousand dollars in cash and stolen property at the unit.
The group also faces several traffic infringement charges as a result of the high-speed chase.
Police said several members of the group were already known to them.
