Two men have been arrested and charged after a series of car thefts and break-ins in Queenstown and possibly throughout the South Island.

Detective Sergeant Brian Cameron, of Queenstown, said there were of several instances of Toyota Hilux vehicles being targeted in the Frankton area in October and early November

In four cases they were interfered with and parts stolen and in one other case a vehicle was stolen and stripped for parts. The chassis was dumped together with another stolen vehicle on the Crown Range, he said.

"Police believe that the vehicles were targeted specifically because of their make and model and an investigation is ongoing to establish just how widespread the men's offending has been, with police from across the South Island assisting."

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There had been no further incidents reported since the arrests, Cameron said.

Remarkables Towing owner Dave Tomkinson said his company helped with the extraction of the vehicles dumped on the Crown Range.They had been "totally stripped out", he said.

Tomkinson was aware of five vehicles - parked on State Highway 6 between the Frankton roundabout and the Kawarau Bridge - that had been interfered with and at least one had been stolen from that area.

Earlier this month, Otago Lakes Central Police recovered a Toyota Hilux in Palmerston and in November police found two stolen Toyota Hiluxes dumped at the top of the Crown Range Rd.

The arrested men have been charged with a variety of offences including burglary, theft of a motor vehicle and theft of vehicle parts.

They have been remanded in custody and will appear in the Dunedin District Court on Thursday.