Alleged grinch charged over Christmas crimewave

A car thief and thief launched a one-man Christmas crime wave across Melbourne, police allege.

The 49-year-old Altona Meadows man faces more than 30 charges stemming from a string of crimes that began on Christmas Eve.

Police will allege he broke into a design studio in downtown Richmond around 7pm on Christmas Day and stole a vehicle from a furniture business in the same suburb a short time later.

The man drove north-west of the city in the early hours of Boxing Day and allegedly broke into a restaurant in Deer Park at around 5.45am, then an indoor furniture business on the Western Highway in Ravenhall and two restaurants on Westwood Drive in the same suburb.

He was arrested in a bar in St Albans at 1pm on Boxing Day.

The stolen vehicle was found in the parking lot and police seized the items they claimed were stolen during the burglary.

The man was charged with offenses including burglary, theft and criminal damage.

He was expected to appear in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Saturday.

Meanwhile, ACT police arrested a man they claimed was carrying a 3D printed gun at a Canberra shopping mall on Boxing Day.

The 39-year-old man is charged with possessing a prohibited firearm without a permit.

Australian Border Force investigators also arrested a woman at Sydney airport who they allege tried to smuggle more than $16 million worth of amphetamines into the country in her luggage.

They say the drugs were found in vacuum-sealed bags labeled “tea.”