A teenager is alleged to have stolen a large truck in Auckland and driven north, picking up hitchhikers on the way to Whangarei.
Police said the teen was pulled over south of Whangarei on State Highway 1 at 2.45am on Friday after officers identified a Scania truck that had been taken from a yard in Otahuhu on Thursday.
They said the boy had even picked up a couple of hitchhikers along the way.
The teenager was due to appear in court in Whangarei on Friday.