Takaka burglary: “It’s not random; it’s targeted”
Val and Terry Nelson who are devastated by the burglary of their Meihana Street home. Police are seeking information from the public. Photo: Neil Wilson.
Terry and Val Nelson say they don’t feel comfortable in their own home any more.
Last weekend, the Nelsons’ Meihana St house was broken into and almost stripped by what Takaka police are calling “well-equipped and confident burglars”.
“It’s just incredible the trouble they’ve gone to,” said Terry. “They emptied drawers and cupboards - anything that might be a hiding place for valuables. They stole stuff out of the freezer and found the place I’d hidden the key to the vehicle in the garage. They searched it but didn’t steal it. They even went through Val’s knitting in the little container in the lounge suite.”
Val and Terry were over the Hill for part of last week and the weekend. Terry is the president of the Nelson Harness Racing Club and he was heavily involved in the club’s two-day winter meeting.
Before leaving, Val and Terry had taken plenty of security precautions – asking neighbours to keep an eye on their home, getting the mail and papers collected and putting valuables in what they thought were safe places.
“These people broke a window to get in and then went through the house methodically, room-by-room, taking everything they could get. We couldn’t believe it when we came home. It’s a horrible feeling,” said Val. “We’ve had to move out to a motel. And the awful thing is that the police tell us these kinds of burglars sometimes wait until you’ve replaced the things you had insured, and then come back and clean you out all over again.”
Sgt Arthur Clarence of the Takaka Police said that the burglary was easily the worst in his 19-year experience in Golden Bay.
“It’s not random; it’s targeted,” he said. “It’s particularly worrying being a domestic burglary and a very thorough one. The criminals were well prepared and pretty confident about having enough time because they’d have been inside the house for about an hour. We’re looking for information about any kind of strange vehicle being seen in the area over the weekend or before. If a van or something like it was parked in a funny place for a period of time, we’d like to know that too. In fact if anyone heard or saw anything out of the ordinary anywhere in the Bay last weekend they should give us a call.”
Neil Wilson
