A manhunt continues following the theft of five government cars in northern Tasmania.
Around 1:30am Monday, a member of the public reported an attempted vehicle theft near the Launceston General Hospital on Frankland Street.
It is alleged two men ran from the scene after hearing the vehicle owner's voice.
Police said a security box at the hospital had been forced open and more than 30 sets of keys and five government vehicles were stolen.
Inspector Darren Hopkins said more than 20 of the stolen keys had been located.
"We believe around 30 to 35 keys have been stolen in total, and the staff are still trying to determine exact numbers for us, but a significant number of the keys have been recovered in one motor vehicle," he said.
A 16-year-old with no fixed address and a 24-year-old man from Legana were later arrested after incidents in Ravenswood and Launceston involving two of the government vehicles.
Police recovered two more of the vehicles in Launceston and Invermay.
Chopper involved in search
It is alleged the fifth government vehicle was used to evade police on the Tasman Highway around 8:00am Monday.
"As a result of that, the police rescue helicopter was called in to assist the search for that vehicle and the offender," Inspector Hopkins said.
The vehicle was later located in St Helens but the driver was not in the car, resulting in a search of bushland by police.
"As to their identity at this point, we don't know," the Inspector said.
Police said they were also investigating the theft incident of a privately owned Mazda from Frankland Street.
It was found a short distance away and was missing fuel and personal property.
"We believe there are one or two offenders still outstanding and investigations are being conducted at the moment to identify those offenders," Inspector Hopkins said.
