Six men have been jailed in connection with thefts of plant and agricultural machinery totalling £1 million.
Nottinghamshire Police said the men were an “organised crime group” that repeatedly targeted rural communities across the East Midlands between April 2020 and June 2022.
The men took plant and agricultural machinery, pick-up trucks, Land Rovers, vans and power tools during a series of “large-scale thefts and commercial burglaries” from properties in the Rushcliffe and Gedling areas of Nottinghamshire, as well as across Lincolnshire and the surrounding East Midlands region.
The men were sentenced at Lincoln Crown Court where they were jailed for a combined period of 12 years and four months.
- Colin Warriner (36), of Dunham Road, Newton on Trent, Lincoln, was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison;
- Dominic Alderton (36), of no fixed address, was jailed for one years and six months;
- Aaron Booth (25), of Occupation Lane, East Bridgford, received a two-year sentence, suspended for two years, while he was also handed a community order and made to complete 30 rehabilitation activity requirement days;
- Gary Self (58), of Coneygrey Spinney, Newark, was jailed for three years and four months;
- Stefan Ward (31), of Vessey Close, Newark, was sentenced to one year and six months in prison;
- John Watson (36), of Flintham Lane, Screveton, received a sentence of two years and three months.
Nottinghamshire Police said the group was led by Warriner and specifically targeted rural communities by stealing motor vehicles and other items of plant, with the intention of then breaking up the stolen items into parts to be sold on, or create a new vehicle with a cloned identity.
The group were eventually caught out following an extensive joint investigation by Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire detectives, which ran over a number of months in a bid to identify a pattern of offending and track down those responsible.
Detectives were able to link 65 different offences to the men.
‘Devastating impact’
Detective sgt Richard Kinsey of Nottinghamshire Police said the thefts had a “devastating impact” on the businesses and families affected.
“These six men were involved in a conspiracy of 65 separate thefts between them over the space of two years. Each of those will have been felt keenly by their victims, who were all members of the rural community,” he said.
“The theft of these types of items can have an absolutely debilitating impact on the local businesses that rely on them and directly affect people’s livelihoods, which is precisely why the police dedicated our efforts into tackling these crimes as we understand how much doing this means to rural communities.
“This was an extensive investigation that ran over a period of time and involved close collaboration between Nottinghamshire Police and Lincolnshire Police, with this culminating in a series of simultaneous warrants.”
Detective Insp Dave Harrop, of Lincolnshire Police said the investigation represented a “considerable investment” of resources by Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire Police.
“This was a tenacious investigation, and its success was driven by a small but dedicated team of detectives who tackled organised criminals who have plagued our rural communities head-on and brought them to justice,” he said.
“There has been a noticeable reduction in these crimes across the region since these men were remanded.
“This type of crime has a major impact on our rural communities, and this will not be tolerated.
“Rural crime is one of our top policing priorities and we continue to investigate all reports to ensure justice is served.”
