Queenstown news and more...

A confused holidaymaker from Spain who claimed he was a member of the Irish Republican Army and a Maori was arrested twice on the same day for his bizarre antics.  He was first nabbed by cops at 5am last Thursday at a Queenstown bar after racially abusing another customer.  The 31-year-old man was charged with disorderly behaviour and possession of cannabis and bailed not to go near licensed premises.  However, he was »»

  Accident appeal Police want to trace a driver of a white, four-door car seen near an accident in which a tourist was killed in Queenstown. A 48-year-old Taiwanese woman died after being hit by a bus near the One Mile roundabout on Fernhill Road (above) on February 16. »»

A number of Queenstown car owners have been left counting the cost after a spate of break-ins to unlocked vehicles. Ten cars were targeted by thieves in the past week, with items taken including cash, an MP3 player and an expensive cricket bat.  Between last Thursday and Friday nights, six vehicles were robbed in upmarket Kelvin Heights, three were done at the same address in Lake Hayes Estate and another motor was broken into at the »»

Police warn Arrowtown residents to beware after two reports of a late night prowler.   At 2am last Sunday, someone was woken at a house in Merioneth Street by the sound of a man trying an outside door handle.   “The person was asleep in the lounge when they heard a noise at the carport door by the kitchen,” local constable Daniel Andrew says. “A male was spotted running away and the door was damaged where the »»

Police warn residents in the vicinity of Speargrass Flat Road to be on guard after reports of a suspicious car trawling the area late at night.   On February 3, a handbag and bank cards were swiped from a vehicle parked in a garage and cops believe the theft could be linked to sightings of a red or burgundy-coloured Nissan Torino.   “This car has been spotted cruising around and going up and down people’s driveways in »»

  Bash and dash Police would like to talk to this man (left) and four others in relation to an alleged assault of a 25-year-old Queenstown man at 4.30am last Saturday on Cow Lane. »»

Nine Queenstown men have been arrested during a series of early-morning drug busts in the resort. Police first carried out search warrants last Thursday at a Sunshine Bay property and discovered a cannabis plant and “numerous bongs and utensils”, constable Sean Drader says. “Several occupants were arrested as they all put their hands up to owning the utensils.” Two glaziers, both aged 20, and a 21-year-old »»

Queenstown police are warning trampers not to leave expensive belongings in cars while heading away on local tracks for a few days. A couple were allegedly seen breaking into a vehicle at the Routeburn carpark beyond Glenorchy last Sunday morning. Local constable Sean Drader says police would like to talk to anyone who may have had their vehicles tampered with and not reported it. “We get these little spates and it’ll be one »»

Queenstown police warn tourists to be on their guard after a hotel prowler struck twice overnight on Monday. Sometime between midnight and 9am, the sneak thief entered a room at the Central Ridge Boutique Hotel in Sydney Street via an unsecured patio door, swiping a handbag and jewellery bag while guests were asleep. The same night, an Acer laptop computer plus a handbag, wallet and cash were taken from a room at the nearby Copthorne »»

A boozed visitor from Dunedin “celebrated” New Year’s Day with a double – he was arrested twice within a few hours. The 21-year-old man was first done for disorderly behaviour in Queens­town at 2.15am. After sleeping it off in the cells before being released, by 6.30am he was back behind bars. This time he allegedly threw a rock through a car window in Fernhill and climbed into the vehicle where he was found by »»