By Tanya Faulkner
“Relieved, more than anything”.
That’s the feeling of one Ferntree Gully local who’s prized possession has been returned to him after a lengthy investigation.
Craig Dean, the owner of Mustang Motorsport, has had his $400K 2021 GD-500 KR Mustang returned by Victoria Police after it was stolen from his car yard almost a month ago.
The Mustang, which was stolen on Wednesday 11 October, was recovered by police and returned to the yard on Friday 3 November.
He said he had a surprise call from Victoria Crime Squad’s detective senior constable Michael Gatt while he was looking after his grandkids.
“He rang me up and said ‘you’re going to have to bring your spare keys out to me’ and I said ‘oh, beauty, you found it?”
“He said he was standing right beside it.
“Michael is also a car person, so he was able to give me a good description of what it looked like and what to expect when I saw it.
The car had been repainted in black and the spoiler was removed.
Mr Dean said it was a relief that there was minimal damage done to the car itself, and the exterior damages were an easy fix for his team.
“I didn’t personally see the car for quite some time as I had been down the coast.
“The badges had been taken off and it had been painted black.
“The boys looked at it and they were able to peel the paint off, thanks to a sealant we use on our cars, and there was no major damage,” he said.
“It was relatively easy to put it back to where it should be,” he said.
According to Mr Dean, he and his team spent four to five hours on the car removing the paint and tidying up the car to its condition as seen by the media on Friday 10 October.
A 37-year-old Narre Warren man was arrested on Wednesday and charged with theft of motor vehicle, driving while disqualified and possessing a drug of dependence.
After receiving a tip-off, detectives last week searched a home in Carrum Downs where the Mustang was recovered.
Detective senior constable Michael Gatt said it was an awesome moment for his team when they found the rare vehicle.
“I was probably more relieved than Craig.
“This investigation took a lot of long days, especially as the investigation went on.
“It’s good to see that the car could be handed back to its owner, and brought back to its former glory,” he said.
As a fellow Ford fan, he said it’s awesome to see this car in Australia, in the top quality condition that it is in.
The initial report for the theft came through to local police around 3:45pm on Wednesday 11 October, and was quickly passed on to the Crime Squad who could put more time into the search.
Mr Dean said he was on holiday when the vehicle was stolen from his yard.
“The manager, James, called me after 10 minutes or so after it had been stolen and had to break the news to me.
“I think he was more gutted than I was at the time, I was still in disbelief,” he said.
Mr Gatt said it’s not an unusual case for his team.
“Our uniform police were informed initially, then it came to our Crime Squad when our detectives became involved, and we could give it more time than the local police who have other tasks.
“It’s not unusual to search for cars this rare, particularly because of the value, its rarity and its attention.
“It’s a big asset for a business, and a person, to lose,” he said.
Two men were captured on CCTV entering Mustang Motorsport in Ferntree Gully, pinching the 2021 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500KR and driving off.
Initially, there were concerns that the vehicle would have gone interstate or been stripped for parts, however Mr Gatt said the value of the car suggested it would stay in good condition.
“Because of its value and rarity, I expected the car would be kept in some sort of good condition, which is mostly the case,” he said.
For all parties involved, the return of the Mustang to Mr Dean has been a great success.
Mr Gatt said the public’s involvement went a long way to help solve the crime.
Mr Dean said he had a lot of anonymous tips from members of the community once the news broke out across various media outlets.
“Some of the intel we got helped us retrieve pieces that were taken off the vehicle.
“But, we also had some anonymous calls who just left messages and wouldn’t ring back, so there was a sense of false hope at times.
“It felt like a lot of sitting by the phone waiting, which was the hard part,” he said.
Mr Dean said he and his team were relieved to have the car back in the showroom, and was very grateful to police and the community for their support.
“It was just a material thing, no one was hurt, but it was of course a financial loss -I wasn’t crying but I was disappointed obviously.
“I didn’t want to put too much pressure on anyone and make a big deal about it, that doesn’t solve anything.
“Michael was fantastic with me, he always took my calls, his attitude and processes, the way he handled everything was fantastic.
“He was really respectful and really did the job, and got the car back,” he said.
The $400,000 car is the only one of its kind in Australia and one of 24 across the globe.
The 37-year-old Narre Warren man was arrested on Wednesday 8 November and was remanded to appear at Ringwood Magistrates Court on Thursday 9 November.
A 32-year-old Carrum Downs man was also interviewed and released without charge.
