Established in 1924 as the
proudly serving Brimbank and the North West
28 APRIL, 2026
Peter’s perfect century
(Damjan Janevski) 548476_02
They say you only turn 100 once, but St Albans’ newest centenarian Peter Spitsin is having so much fun he’s marking the occasion with two parties. After celebrating with family and friends over the weekend, Peter hit the triple digits on Anzac Day, and with another party planned for the coming week he said he’s feeling good about his newest chapter. Peter grew up in Harbin, China, where he used to hunt animals to sell. “They were very poor and didn’t have much to eat,” daughter-in-law Olga said. He then migrated to Australia with his son Andrew in 1960, making the long journey on the Royal Interocean Lines. After moving to Melbourne, Peter worked in a factory for a brief period before purchasing a boat and becoming a scallop fisherman, eventually going on to build houses. When asked for the secret to his long life, Olga offered a suggestion. “Probably the secret is, never smoke, never drink and believe in god,” she said. The centenarian is a father of two, a grandfather of seven and a great-grandfather of four.
Youth gang targeted A youth gang with members from Melbourne’s north-west is at the target of police, after multiple Firearm Prohibition Orders (FPOs) were served. Detectives from the Gang Crime Squad were supported by the VIPER and Echo taskforces and detectives from the North West Metro and Western regions, serving 19 FPOs on gang members in recent weeks. Twelve FPOs were served on Wednesday 8 April on members aged between 20 and 25 living in Craigieburn, Hillside, Sunshine West, Melton, Sunbury, Tarneit, Footscray (two), Deer Park, Aintree, Armstrong Creek, Weir Views and
Sebastopol. Four gang members were also arrested for offending including theft of motor vehicle, drug possession, handling stolen goods and outstanding warrants. A further seven FPOs have since been served on gang members aged between 19 and 26 currently in custody. The gang, which police have not named, now has 40 members between the age of 17 and 26 subject to a FPO. Police said the group is behind more than 4500 criminal offences. Over the past two years, police said the group has been connected to numerous homicides involving knives and fi rearms,
Luba Grigorovitch
as well as home invasions, burglaries, carjackings, robberies, and assaults. The FPO allows police to conduct unannounced searches to ensure they are not in possession of fi rearms. Anti-gangs division Detective Superintendent Jason Kelly said police will continue to target and hold offenders to account who seek to commit serious and violent crime. “Operations like this one give us a greater insight than ever before on those who associate themselves as part of a youth gang. Every single day, we are arresting and charging youth gang members for serious offending,” he
said. “If you choose to be involved in one of these gangs and endanger our community, you will be tracked down and held to account for your actions. “If you join a gang, you will regret it. It ends badly and very likely results in you or others being seriously assaulted, your family being impacted and you being arrested and charged for serious criminal offences.” Anyone with any information on youth gang activity is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit an anonymous report at www. crimestoppersvic.com.au
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