File photo. Photo: Rafael Ben-Ari/Chameleons Eye/ 123rf
Guns have been seized and eight people have been arrested after a spate of burglaries and thefts in Manawatū.
The incidents were in Feilding and Rongotea and happened over the past six weeks, Inspector Ross Grantham said.
Eight search warrants were conducted in Marton, Ashurst, Cheltenham, and Palmerston North in relation to dishonesty offending, over the past two weeks.
It is where police found eight guns and about $10,000 worth of other stolen items.
The burglaries were at commercial, residential, and rural premises.
"Thanks to information from the public and investigative work from our dedicated tactical crime unit, two groups of alleged offenders were identified, one in the wider Manawatū region, and the other in Palmerston North," Grantham said.
Three men from the first group aged between 19 and 22 have been charged with theft, burglary, and drug-related matters.
Another three men from the second group are also facing the same charges.
Grantham said there could be further charges.