Pair arrested over theft of German tourists' car

Two people have been arrested in relation to the theft of a car belonging to a family of German tourists.

The Schwarz family had their New Zealand holiday take a turn for the worse last weekend when their car and belongings were stolen.

The family was shocked when they then came across a woman allegedly selling their things on the side of the road the next day - but they were unable to track down the rest of their luggage.

In a lucky twist of fate Elke and her three sons, Robin, Marius and Lukas, came across their blue Honda Odyssey abandoned on Beresford St around 3.30pm.

The car, which Robin Schwarz had bought to use over a five-month stay in the country, had been left with a smashed window and the headlights on.

Inspector Ben Offner, of the Auckland Police, confirmed they had arrested two people late last week in relation to the theft of the Schwarz’s vehicle.

“A 37-year-old male and a 27-year-old female have both been charged with unlawful taking and theft,” he said.

“We’ve forensically examined the vehicle and returned it to the family,” he said.

The pair had appeared in court, Offner said, and were due to re-appear next month. Both faced charges of unlawfully taking a vehicle and theft.

Robin Schwarz and his family were now in possession of their passports, though some of their luggage was still missing.

“Most of it has been recovered - there were a couple of bags that had been dumped,” Offner said.

“I think there were still a couple of laptops and a tablet that were missing.”

Robin Schwarz said he was looking forward to getting his car back so that he could leave Auckland.