Five teens have been arrested after Northland police spotted a convoy of stolen cars.
Photo: RNZ / Richard Tindiller

Five teens have been arrested after Northland police spotted a convoy of stolen cars, with one of the drivers nabbed after crashing into a house.

Whangārei-Kaipara area commander Inspector Maria Nordstrom said three vehicles were stolen from rural Mamaranui, north of Dargaville, about 1am on Sunday.

The stolen cars then travelled in convoy south to Dargaville township, where they were intercepted by frontline staff near River Road.

Nordstrom said the drivers refused to stop, instead taking off at high speed.

Police did not pursue the vehicles, she said.

However, officers soon came across one of the vehicles, which had crashed into a house on River Road.

The driver was caught trying to flee on foot.

Nordstrom said the four other youths were caught with help from the Eagle helicopter and dog units.

The second vehicle was located abandoned on State Highway 12, near Turiwiri, while the third carried on travelling south.

It was stopped when police deployed road spikes near Pūhoi.

All five youths, who were aged between 14 and 16, had been charged with burglary and unlawfully taking motor vehicles.

Nordstrom praised the work of the Dargaville nightshift team, who saw the incident through to the end and ensured the offenders could be held to account.