By Belinda Nolan
WEAPONS, drugs and DNA evidence are among almost 3000 items currently being stored at Brimbank’s police stations.
The property offices at Sunshine and Keilor Downs stations are brimming with more than 2800 confiscated and lost property items awaiting investigation or destruction.
Samurai swords, knives and guns, hydroponic drug labs and forensic exhibits are logged and stored away securely, along with lost property including wallets and mobile phones.
Keilor Downs Property officer Senior Constable Chris Van Burren said his station had everything under the sun.
“You name it, we’ve got it,” Sen Const Van Burren said.
“We get stuff coming in on a daily basis. It’s a like a big vicious cycle.”
The property office takes up around a quarter of the Keilor Downs police station and also includes a drug room and sheds.
Some exhibits date as far back as 2007.
Most are destroyed because they are illegal but some items of value are sent to the Sheriff’s office to be auctioned off.
The same goes for lost property that is not claimed.
Sen Const Van Burren said around 90 per cent of lost items are returned to the owners, with the rest sold, destroyed, or given to the finder.
Some of the most bizarre items handed in include a letterbox and life-like masks, which had been used in the commission of crimes.
Sen Const Van Burren urged residents to make a police report when losing property like mobile phones and wallets.
