Thieves Swap Cars As They Lead Police On 200km Pursuit

A fast and furious chase that spanned more than 200 kilometres across Melbourne, Austrailia, saw a couple of prolific thieves co-ordinate three car changes in their failed escape on Friday.

It began when a stolen Audi tore past police on the Calder Highway around 12.30am  and the car was believed to be clocking speeds of up to 200km/h.

Police say Inside the Audi were two men who were well-practiced at getaways - run a red light here, drive down the wrong side of the road there - and the pursuit would generally be called-off. But a police chopper, which is used to track car thieves who pose a danger to the public, was on their tail.

The chopper followed them to Darebin, the CBD, Dandenong and back through the eastern suburbs to Preston, where they had organised a mate to pick them up in a stolen Mazda so they could dump the Audi.

But the chopper hadn't lost sight of them, and it tracked the Mazda as it careered to Montrose, Dandenong, into the city, to Keilor and Brunswick. Realising they were still being followed, the trio abandoned the Mazda and had another friend waiting to pick them up in a stolen Toyota Corolla.

By this time, it was more than three hours after the pursuit began and the gang had travelled more than 200 kilometres. They ditched the Corolla in Burgess Street, Preston, and made their final dash.

Instead of another shifty slip, they sought cover in one of their own homes in nearby Miller Street with the chopper still hovering overhead.

All four were arrested shortly before 4am and are in the custody of Darebin crime investigation unit detectives.