09/06/2023

Farm Thefts on the Rise Due to War in Ukraine, Says Thames Valley Police

Police say thefts of high-tech farming equipment has soared in recent months due to the war in Ukraine. Oxfordshire farmer Robert Redman told the BBC that £70,000 worth of GPS units were stolen from tractors and combine harvesters on his farm this year. He believes this was linked to sightings of drones flying over the area a few weeks previously.  

Insurance company NFU Mutual has confirmed that the cost of GPS theft nationwide was more than £500,000 between the period of January and April of 2023, which is double compared to figures from the previous year. 

Thames Valley Police and crime commissioner Matthew Barber told the BBC: “It’s really big business. Since the war in Ukraine there has been a shortage of farm machinery in Eastern Europe and a lot of the stuff that is being stolen in the UK, we are seeing it being tracked across Europe.” 

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