Following an investigation into multiple break-and-entering offences at several rural properties in Dunedoo and Gulgong, a 32-year-old man was charged with 17 offences. 

The first incident took place on Sunday 15 December 2024 when police attended a rural property on Golden Highway in Dunedoo following reports of break-and-enter sometime between Wednesday 11 December and Sunday 15 December. 

Two registered firearms and ammunition were believed to have been stolen in the incident. 

On Saturday 11 January, police were called to a separate address on Golden Highway in Dunedoo after an SUV was stolen. 

The vehicle was found abandoned around 4pm on Thursday 16 January on Montaza Road in Tallawang. The car was seized for forensic examination. 

On Wednesday 15 January around 5 am, a car battery, front and rear number plates, a mechanical tool, and a trail camera were stolen from a business on Station Street in Gulgong. 

Police believe that the incidents are all linked. 

Officers with help from the Operations Support Group executed a search warrant on a home on Caigan Street in Dunedoo around 9am on Wednesday 3 April and arrested a 32-year-old man.

During the search police seized ammunition, illegal substances, including 1.2g of Cannabis leaf and 2.1g of alleged amphetamine, mobile phone devices, and mechanical tools. 

The 32-year-old suspect was taken to Mudgee Police Station and charged with 17 offences including

•  seven counts of having suspected stolen goods on premises
•  two counts of stealing a firearm or imitation firearm
• three counts of acquiring a firearm subject to a prohibition order
• Three counts of larceny
• Stealing a motor vehicle 
• Acquiring ammunition subject to a prohibition order. 

He was refused bail and will appear before Lithgow Local Court today, 4 April. 

Inquires under the Strike Compartment established by the Rural Crime Prevention Team (RCPT) and the Orana Mid-Western Police District, continue.