Vision from a police helicopter has captured the moment two men, allegedly responsible for a four-day crime spree across southern NSW, were apprehended in a creek near Wollongong on Monday.
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The dramatic arrest of the pair – aged 24 and 26 – unfolded just after 11am, when Polair officers spotted a stolen white Holden ute travelling along Preston Street at Figtree.
The ute careered across The Avenue, dodging an approaching police vehicle, before it mounted a traffic island and narrowly avoided a head-on crash with a car on the Masters Road off-ramp.
The ute struck a guardrail and continued a short distance, before two men jumped out and fled into nearby Byarong Creek.
The pair ran along the waterway and under The Avenue bridge, before surrendering as police closed in near Figgy Bowlo.
The pair is now facing more than 40 charges between them as police allege the men were involved in robberies and other offences spanning an area from Griffith to Wollongong over four days.
Each man has been charged with more than 20 offences, ranging from aggravated break, enter and steal, robbery in company, use offensive weapon to prevent lawful detention, firearm possession, vehicle theft, assault and police pursuit.
In one incident, on Sunday, a woman was allegedly hit in the stomach with the end of a firearm during an aggravated break and enter near Griffith. It is also alleged the men had travelled across the state’s south in different stolen cars.
About 10pm on Sunday, police attempted to stop them in a stolen Nissan Patrol ute on the Hume Motorway at Mittagong.
The vehicle did not stop, sparking a pursuit just south of Bargo. About 10.30pm, the stolen ute allegedly rammed a marked police car in Colo Vale before the two men ran into nearby bushland.
A woman also travelling in the car was arrested and has been assisting police with their inquiries. The two men will face court on Tuesday.