Stolen farm vehicles funding drugs trade, says PCC

Quad bikes and other equipment stolen from farms could be used to fund the drugs trade and other organised crime, according to police.

Operation Ragwort has been launched to tackle rural crime in the south west, with the aim of breaking up organised gangs.

Intelligence from Wiltshire Police has indicated the theft of agricultural machinery, plant machinery, horseboxes and farming tools increased by 3% from 2023 to 2024.

Wiltshire's Police & Crime Commissioner (PCC) Philip Wilkinson said money raised from the sale of farm equipment on the black market can "end up in the drug trade".

Mr Wilkinson said the situation in Ukraine and eastern Europe had "placed a premium on farm equipment, tractors and trailers".

"They're worth a lot money on the black market," he said.

"So what we see being stolen in Wiltshire and the South West will often end up being transported through serious organised crime groups to where the demand is.

"And that money can end up in the drug trade, it's all interconnected.

"We see all kinds of criminality, and the profits. We follow the money."

According to the National Farmers Union, nationally the cost of rural crime was £1.1m in 2023, a rise of more than 12%.

The police operation involves five forces from across the south and south west of England collaborating and sharing intelligence.

During two days of action on key roads in Wiltshire earlier in the week, officers stopped and checked all vehicles towing trailers carrying quad bikes, livestock, agricultural equipment and plant machinery along two key Wiltshire road networks.

More than 100 vehicles were stopped and checked, resulting in two vehicles being seized and a suspected stolen trailer being recovered.

One farmer who was stopped and found to be fully legal and compliant said it was a positive thing to see the action by police.

Howard Ford, who was transporting sheep, said: "We do our best to prevent theft from our farm and luckily we haven't had major problems.

"But it is reassuring to know that the police are out there and looking into things."

Supt James Brain, rural crime lead for Wiltshire Police, explained: "Nationally there is an emerging threat of theft of high value equipment from our farms; machinery, things like quad bikes and trailers."

The action was about being "proactive and intrusive", he said, as well as "building confidence and trust in our communities".

He encouraged anyone who was a victim of crime, or who had seen suspicious behaviour to report it.

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