The arrest of a father and his son led police to discover a $6.5m treasure trove of stolen cash, jewellery and other valuable items in Sydney, according to reports.
The pair are being questioned over a string of crimes spanning seven years throughout NSW and Victoria, including a series of double-storey home break-ins known as the “spiderman” robberies.
Nearly $40,000 of cash and valuables was allegedly found buried at a house in Bellevue Hill, Sydney, where the father lives with his aged mother, the Herald Sun reports.
The bulk of the stolen goods, which included up to $5m in cash, a World War I Victoria Cross and 120kg in silver bars, was found in a Waterloo storage unit.
An unnamed police source quoted in the Herald Sun said the pair had managed to avoid capture because they did not associate with criminals or flaunt their wealth.
“They don’t gamble or take drugs,” the source said.
“The dad lives with his old mother and drives a cab part-time and the son lives in the cheapest boarding house you could find.”
The pair were arrested after a $450,000 robbery of safety deposit boxes in the Melbourne suburb of Ivanhoe.
A Melbourne detective saw the father and son arrive at Tullamarine airport on December 3 and suspected they were involved in the robbery.
Police discovered the pair had booked a hotel room in Carlton, hired a car and allegedly bought specialist power tools for use during the robbery.
The two men have been extradited to Victoria and will appear in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court next Thursday.
Views: 0