Stolen farm vehicles used as ‘currency’ by gangs
Farmers were warned this week that criminals see tractors and quad bikes as easy pickings. Insurer NFU Mutual called for farmers to ramp up security in response to increasing demand for agricultural vehicles and machinery by criminal gangs operating internationally.
Robbie Wallace from NFU Mutual’s Kilmarnock Agency, said: “Through NFU Mutual’s work to combat agri-vehicle crime, we know that tractors, telehandlers and quads are currently in high demand from organised crime networks who are using stolen goods as a form of currency following tougher money laundering legislation.”
Wallace was speaking ahead of an event in Ayrshire next week focused on the problem of rural crime, where a number of agencies will offer advice on how to tackle thefts.
Tractor, telehandler and quad theft costs in Scotland have fallen by almost half in the three years since NFU Mutual, Police Scotland and other partners including NFU Scotland joined forces to tackle farm machinery theft.
However, Wallace said
there was no time for complacency. “Farm vehicle theft is big business for the organised gangs who are stealing expensive vehicles and farm equipment are either cloning it for sale here or shipping it across the world.
“A new breed of brazen and determined thieves is using a combination of brute force and technological knowhow to target the countryside.”
Two vehicles recently repatriated to Scotland by NFU Mutual were a Manitou telehandler and a John Deere tractor between them worth £96,000, which were seized in Eastern Europe. The vehicle details were circulated through the police and specialist theft registers,
which led to their detection and recovery in Lithuania.
As well as offering workshops on how to protect vehicles and property, the Tackling Rural Crime Together – Back to Basics event at Dumfries House, Cumnock on 5 October will include sessions on cybercrime, avoiding scams and what to do if you witness wildlife crime.
Regional manager Christine Cuthbertson said: “Thieves and scammers are becoming increasingly devious … A recent cybercrime incident in the region robbed one Ayrshire farmer of thousands and this incident must serve as a sharp reminder to all to be alert.”