Investigators from Strike Force Vega have charged a 15-year-old male who was found to be in possession of a large quantity of stolen property in Alice Springs.

Detective Superintendent Brent Warren said the youth went to a jewellery store to obtain an appraisal on an Omega Sea Master watch; however the owner of the store became suspicious of the item and alerted Police.

“Investigations confirmed that the watch, worth thousands of dollars, had been stolen from a vehicle on Barrett Drive on 30 July.

“The youth was arrested and Police recovered the watch, along with other stolen property including laptop computers, cameras, an iPad and a GPS device.”

The property, valued at $13,730, was stolen from homes and cars in Alice Springs over the last week.

He was charged with receiving stolen property (x2) and will appear in Alice Springs Youth Justice Court on 2 August 2013.

“Strike Force Vega has been operating in Alice Springs for 23 weeks and during this time members have achieved great results in their efforts to reduce property crime,” Detective Superintendent Warren said.

“Hard working and dedicated Police have arrested 215 people and summonsed a further 74 in relation to 830 offences, as well as executing 13 search warrants.

“Strike Force Vega is an ongoing operation and we will continue to target criminal activity linked to property crime offending in Alice Springs.”