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Plant machinery stop checks continue as rural Task Force goods seizures exceed £570k |
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Proactive efforts to identify stolen plant and farm machinery across the county continue, with officers conducting another operation based out of the DVSA site off the M3 in Chilcomb.
The operation was led by the Country Watch Rural Crime Task Force in collaboration with the western Neighbourhood Enforcement Team (NET), Roads Policing Unit, Commercial Vehicle Unit, DVSA and Data Tag.
The theft of agricultural machinery is an issue for rural communities both locally in Hampshire, as well as across the UK. This type of machinery is high value, and we know it is transported throughout the country and overseas by organised criminals.
Between June last year and March this year, the rural task force alone has recovered an estimated £574,550 worth of goods. Of this, £463,300 relates to stolen goods such as plant and farm machinery, much of which has been returned to the rightful owners. The remaining seizures relate to equipment or vehicles believed to have been used in crime.
On Thursday 7 May, teams basing themselves at the DVSA enforcement site conducted stop checks on vehicles towing heavy loads, with a particular focus on vehicles carrying plant and agricultural vehicles and machinery.
Vehicles and their drivers were subject to checks, and officers worked with a representative from Data Tag to verify the identity of any plant or equipment being transported.
In the morning, more than 30 vehicles were brought into the site and checked, and more than 20 pieces of plant or farm machinery was examined.
On this occasion, no stolen equipment was located, however two men aged 35 and 53 were arrested on suspicion of drug driving.
Efforts to combat farm machinery and plant theft continue, and Thursday’s operation follows recent efforts, including an op at the same site on 12 March, and a number of warrants in Southampton on Wednesday 6 May in which five people were arrested as part of a half a million pound organised burglary conspiracy investigation.
You can read more about those efforts in the links below:
We urge people to keep reporting crimes and suspicious incidents in rural areas to us. This includes details and descriptions of any people or vehicles you see, or abandoned and burnt out vehicles that have been left on farmland, for example.
If you have information about crime or suspicious activity in your area, please report this to police on 101, or via the report tool at www.hampshire.police.uk
Alternatively, you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers 100% anonymously on 0800 555 111, or via their anonymous online form at crimestoppers-uk.org
Dial 999 if a crime is in progress, or in the event of an emergency. | ||
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