Stolen Volvo had cardboard number plates, Lake Illawarra police allege

The silver Volvo station wagon piqued the interest of police patrolling Lake Illawarra on Sunday, after officers realised they'd seen it parked outside a known drug location earlier that day.

Officers who brought it to a stop on the side of Shellharbour Road, Warilla, immediately noticed something amiss, according to a police account considered in Wollongong Local Court on Monday.

"Police touched the plates and noticed they were made out of cardboard and covered in clear contact."

Police identified 37-year-old Amanda Lee Dallen, of Lake Heights, as the driver. Checks showed the Volvo had been stolen during a break and enter at Narwee on July 17.

Police arrested Dallen and her two male passengers and allegedly found $2200 in cash while searching her.

The passengers were free to leave, to receive future court attendance notices and infringements for disobeying COVID-19 public health orders.

Dallen faces charges of driving a conveyance taken without consent and using a car with unauthorised number plates.

The court heard Dallen had been charged 34 times previously for driving, stealing, drug and property crimes.

Bail was refused.

The matter returns to court next month.

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