Southern Metro Crime Team officers and local police have arrested seven people in and seized two allegedly stolen cars after the Police Air Wing followed the cars through multiple south-east Melbourne suburbs.
Officers were on patrol, as part of Operation Trinity, when they spotted a white BMW wagon with stolen plates travelling at high speeds on the Monash Freeway, Dandenong about 2am Friday (June 30).
The Air Wing was quickly overhead and tracked the vehicle to Narre Warren where a grey Mercedes joined the BMW, allegedly reaching speeds up to 150-kmh.
The BMW was dumped in Mullum Mullum Tunnel and occupants continued in the Mercedes.
Stop-sticks were successfully deployed in Heidelberg, but the car continued travelling on two wheels towards the Eastern Freeway in Kew.
The vehicle came to a stop and police arrested seven people from inside the vehicle. They were assisting Police with their enquiries.
No one was injured during the incident.
Police say the BMW and Mercedes were stolen during recent aggravated burglaries.
Operation Trinity is a dedicated city-wide operation in place targeting aggravated burglaries and associated car thefts, which increased markedly post the pandemic.
This has been driven by predominantly youth offenders targeting unlocked homes, with the intention of stealing car keys.
Local police from Southern Metro, North West Metro and inner eastern Melbourne are teaming as part of the ongoing metropolitan wide operation.
Specialist police units, including Air Wing, Dog Squad, and Public Order Response Team, also assist on a nightly basis in tracking the movements of offenders.