Thefts, police chase lead to armed alert

Two men have been arrested following an armed offenders squad call-out in Castlecliff on Saturday.

Sergeant Shaun Jones said the AOS call-out at 9.30pm followed a police pursuit in Wanganui, which began at 8.50pm, when officers spotted a vehicle from Palmerston North that had been reported stolen the day before.

Despite the pursuit, the driver failed to stop. However, the vehicle was eventually located in the backyard of a property in Castlecliff.

A suggestion that the car's occupants may have been armed led to a police cordon and AOS members being called to help search the property, near Morgan St.

The vehicle's driver, a 26-year-old Wanganui man, and passenger, a 24-year-old man from Palmerston North, were located at the address and arrested.

The driver was already wanted by the police for earlier failing to appear in court.

Neither man lived at the searched property. The police think it may have been an associate's house.

Mr Jones said officers knew the stolen vehicle was in Wanganui when, at 7pm on Saturday, it was refuelled at BP on Victoria Ave, and driven away without payment.

The driver remained in the vehicle while his passenger carried out the petrol theft.

Mr Jones said both men were due to appear in Whanganui District Court this week in relation to the incident.