Stolen kit worth £80,000 found on Scots farm

A haul of stolen plant and machinery worth more than £80,000 has been discovered on a Scottish farm.

The items recovered from the farm in Moray included tractors, trailers, bale shredders and other types of agricultural equipment.

A spokesman for Grampian Police said three men aged 55, 38 and 37 had been arrested in connection with the find. The spokesman stressed the men had not been charged with theft of the goods but with the crime known as “reset” in Scotland and “possession of stolen goods” in other parts of the UK.

See also: More on rural crime

Police constable Peter Campbell of the Police Scotland Community Investigation Team in Moray said: “Following enquiries earlier this year, at a farm in the Moray area, a large number of tools, equipment, machinery and vehicles that had previously been reported stolen, were discovered.”

PC Campbell said that the amount of equipment stolen served as a warning to other farmers to take extra care in protecting their property.

He suggested:

• Installing CCTV systems and fitting outside security lights controlled by an automatic time-switch or sensors


• Storing any valuable equipment and tools in a secure buildings with good quality locks or padlocks and consider securing windows with bars


• Taking account of serial numbers on pieces of equipment. This enables officers to reunite property with their owners should it be stolen.

PC Campbell added: “I would ask that any suspicious behaviour or suspicious vehicles be reported to police as soon as possible. For further information, advice or to arrange a security check of your farm or property please call one of our local crime prevention officers on 101.”