Detectives investigating multiple alleged assaults and robberies on the NSW North Coast in recent weeks have seized a ute as officers close in on those responsible.
Police established Strike Force Temoin last month after five men were allegedly assaulted in Evans Head and Ballina.
It’s alleged the men were attacked after arranging to meet a person they had communicated with online.
In the first incident, a 58-year-old man was assaulted at Chinamans Beach carpark in Evans Head after arranging to meet a person he’d met online.
When he arrived at the carpark, the man was allegedly confronted by two males and dragged from his car before being repeatedly assaulted.
The males stole his vehicle and left before emergency services arrived and took the injured man to Lismore Base Hospital for treatment.
A few days later, a 77-year-old man was allegedly confronted and bashed unconscious by four youths at Evans Head Skate Park, after arranging to meet a person he’d met online.
Following the assault, the group stole the man’s vehicle.
The following day, a 27-year-old man suffered serious injuries after being assaulted by four males at a park on Elm Street in Evans Head.
The man believed he was meeting a woman he had spoken to earlier in the day online.
The group began smashing the man’s vehicle, however, he fled to a nearby medical centre and called for assistance.
A few days later, on November 12, two men aged 53 and 50 were assaulted in separate incidents by a group of youths in Ballina.
Both men, who had items stolen from them, were taken to Ballina Hospital for treatment.
Following a public appeal for information yesterday, detectives executed a search warrant at a property on the Pacific Highway at Broadwater.
They seized a white ute at the scene which has been taken for forensic examination, along with a toolbox.
Police say the assaults are all believed to be linked with investigations ongoing.
