- Unique investigation by Op Valour Team
by Kim Perks, Central Communications Manager

Chief of the Defence Force, Lieutenant General Jerry Mateparae, ONZM presents Senior Sergeant Chris Bensemann with a Chief of Defence Force’s Commendation. Photo Senior Constable Mike Smith

It’s not often in a policing career you get the opportunity to recover national treasures and hunt down the thieves.

For the detectives of Operation Valour it has been a unique 11 months fraught with highs and lows.

In December last year 96 medals including nine Victoria Crosses, were stolen from the Waiouru Army Museum – it was a crime that outraged the nation.

“It is hard to imagine a burglary that would need such a protracted and complex investigation but this was such an unusual and exceptional case,” says OC Detective Senior Sergeant Chris Bensemann.

Initially around 35 staff worked on the operation. By January this was honed to a core team of six dedicated officers from four areas in Central District.

It began as a classic ‘whodunnit’.

“There was no silver bullet provided to us,” said Chris. “Every evidential gain had to be achieved through laborious, time-consuming and complex enquiries.”

This work took its toll with the detectives working long hours and rarely seeing home as their base moved from Waiouru to Taumarunui and then Palmerston North and Auckland.

Chris speaks of his team with pride and publicly dedicated a Chief of Defence Force Commendation awarded to him, to their tireless work. “There was a real vibe among the team and it is their courage and determination that has led us to where we are today.”

Complete with military escort, Detective Senior Sergeant Debra Gower 2IC Op Valour, carries a set of medals onto the parade ground. Photo: Rob Tucker

The team members lavish equal praise on Chris and his second in charge, Detective Sergeant Debra Gower, stating how they “drew their enthusiasm from the management who never lost sight of what they were trying to achieve”.

The investigation has also been highly dependent on other groups both within and outside the organisation such as Electronic Crime Lab (ECL), Environmental Science and Research (ESR), Mount Eden Prison, Global Solutions and telecommunication providers.

Of particular support were the NZ Army, staff at Harlech House in Auckland and the Company Fraud Office based at Auckland Central.

But most notably “we are indebted to our partners and families who have hardly seen us for 11 months,” said Chris.

It was coincidental but fitting that arrests came just days before the official return of the medals.

Members of the Operation Valour Team: left to right Detective Dennis O’Rourke OC Organised Crime, Constable Paul Dowie, Detective Sergeant Debra Gower 2IC Op Valour, Detective Senior Sergeant Chris Bensemann OC Op Valour, Detective Glenda Barnaby, Detective Darrell Cowan and Detective Trish Clarke. Photo: Senior Constable Mike Smith, Palmerston North

“Speaking to the families of the soldiers at the ceremony really brought home to us how important the medals are to them and the public,” says Detective Darrell Cowan.

The officers have been described as heroes but as Detective Trish Clarke explained: “The soldiers are the real heroes. We have our nice lives because of the sacrifices those men made, and we owed it to them to put our hearts into this investigation.”

“We have to be realistic,” says Chris. “There is still a criminal prosecution to complete and a significant amount of work to be done, but I am so proud of what has been achieved so far and was pretty blown away by the emotion of the ceremony.

“Most of us join the police to make a difference and this case has been indicative of that; none of us are ever likely to experience such an investigation in our careers again.”

Detective Senior Sergeant Chris Bensemann with a commemorative book for presentation to reward donor Tom Sturgess. The book was compiled by Detective Sergeant Glenda Barnaby. Photo: Anna Woolnough

Intelligence Support Officer Paul Bennett (left), along with Detectives Darrell Cowan and Trish Clarke, hand over medals. Photo: NZDF