Thief caught as stolen laptop had tracking device

An unsuspecting thief led police directly to his home when he switched on a stolen laptop which had a tracking device on it.

Edinburgh Sheriff Court heard the thief was caught due to a tracking device. Picture: Comp

The criminal was snared by officers in the latest wave of arrests for housebreaking.

He appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court today in connection with a break-in to a home in Montpelier last month.

Two laptops and a sum of cash were taken during the incident, which had been investigated by officers as part of housebreaking crack-down Operation RAC.

One of the laptops was loaded with tracking software and initialised yesterday when it connected to the Internet.

This led Community Investigation Unit officers to the 42-year-old’s house in Broomhouse Grove last night.

A police dog also helped police track down two other thieves who targeted a house in Denholm Green Avenue.

The occupants woke up at around 2.10am last Tuesday to find that someone had tried to break in to their home.

Various items had been taken from their garden shed.

Shortly afterwards, there was an attempted break-in to Clark Road, which police attended with Police Dog Keach.

The dog quickly managed to trace two men in a nearby garden and both were detained.

A 14-year-old will now be reported to the Procurator Fiscal in connection with both incidents while a 25-year-old man has been charged for the offences in addition to another housebreaking in Crewe Crescent on Monday.

Chief Superintendent Mark Williams, Divisional Commander for the City of Edinburgh said: “In addition to our dedicated housebreaking teams, specialist resources such as the Dog Unit are regularly used to target and arrest these criminals.

“I want to make it clear to the public that tackling housebreaking is our top priority and we are arresting housebreakers every day as a result of our efforts. We won’t stop our relentless pursuit of those responsible.

“Remember that you can help prevent housebreaking by appropriately securing your homes, outbuildings and businesses at all times. More information on crime prevention is available atwww.scotland.police.uk.”