under cover of New Zealand's virus lockdown, a group of 29 thieves cut through the fence of a rental car company in Auckland, lifted the gate from its hinges and drove out 97 cars, because they all had their keys in them (Thanks Gary!)

Most were unbranded Holden Captivas, Mazda 3s or Suzuki Swifts, not as easily recognisable as the company's distinctive green and purple campervans.

Each was believed to be worth roughly between $10,000 and $30,000 each. If all were valued at the top end the collective value would have been roughly $2.8 million.

Over several days on a long weekend, they drove the cars in batches from the site and down the deserted roads of Auckland.

Jucy themselves didn't even notice the theft until they heard from the police. The cars had been parked on a storage site and over the quiet days of Anzac weekend in late April there'd been no checks by the company.

New Zealand's roads were very empty at the time with everyone at home due to lockdown rules. But the police were still out on their usual patrol routes.

"We realised that something was not quite right," police inspector Matt Srhoj told the BBC. "The cars caused suspicion by the way they were driven and a few of our patrol cars ended up in pursuit of those vehicles.

Suspicions were first raised when traffic patrol officers came across motorists who failed to stop, instead, taking off and causing pursuits.

Police discovered these cars belonged to Jucy Rentals - the first hints that something bigger had taken place arising in the middle of the night.

"When we became aware that we came across quite a few of those Jucy vehicles in unusual circumstances we assumed they'd been stolen and alerted the company."

In the end, the lockdown which made the whole theft possible in the first place also became its undoing. The police say the country's standstill actually made it easier to track down the cars and those who stole them.

One by one, most of the cars were tracked down and returned to Jucy. So far, 85 of the missing vehicles have been recovered and 29 people have been arrested in connection with the heist.

While many of them have links with local gangs, the police say, it doesn't seem to have been a well co-ordinated effort, let alone one where the thieves had thought their plans through to the end.

 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-52555036
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12328603