Following a reward of £120,000 donated by Lord Ashcroft, Founder and Chair of Crimestoppers UK, for the return of stolen New Zealand war medals, a man has now been jailed for 11 years for the theft.
During the visits Lord Ashcroft made to New Zealand regarding the reward, he was able to convince the Police Commissioner, Howard Broad and other business leaders to embrace the Crimestoppers ideology. And on Monday 12 October 2009, Crimestoppers New Zealand was launched.
Crimestoppers New Zealand is based on Crimestoppers UK so is an independent charity and is also using the same branding and phone number.
Lord Ashcroft KCMG, said: “This sentence is a great result, not only for the victims but for all of New Zealand. They are a very special part of the country‟s history and I was honoured to be able to help in the recovery of these medals. It was through my visits there that I was able to assist law enforcement further by encouraging them to set up Crimestoppers New Zealand – which I‟m sure will be another vital tool in helping them to fight crime.”
The theft of the medals happened in early December 2007 from Waiouru Army Museum in New Zealand. Amongst the stolen medals were Victoria Crosses. The man (not named) was sentenced yesterday (22 October) at the Auckland District Court, New Zealand.
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