War in Ukraine driving criminal gangs to target rural farm machinery for ‘lucrative rewards’
A police officer said a wave of organized crime operations in the rural areas of Ukraine in Ukraine, and that the stolen farm machines were sent to Eastern Europe for “profitable prizes”.
After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine three years ago, the police said that a black market was opened for the equipment in the region, which saw the decline of production and the sanctions imposed on Moscow.
Agricultural machine manufacturers John Deer and Lely also stopped sending goods to Russia shortly after the war began.
The distress in consumables has led some criminal gangs to target England’s rural areas such as Devon and Cornwall, who saw rural crime rising last year.
“We see that organized criminal gangs come to our power area and aim isolated geographical places, stealing portable assets such as trailer, four bikes and even tractors, PC
“Always this [stolen goods] It will be sent to Eastern Europe. We have the unfortunate occupation of Ukraine and there is an obvious demand for the machine with the sanctions imposed there, and I suggest that theft can continue to increase. ”
According to the figures published by NFU Mutua, rural crime cost farmers last year £ 44.1 million £ £ 44.1 million
And the cost of demands for the theft of agricultural vehicles fell from one third to £ 7 million last year, but the cost of tractor theft increased by 17 percent to 1.5 million pounds. The cost of trailer theft increased by 15 percent to £ 1.3 million.
PC Orchard, known as “portable assets ,, said that the stolen of equipment such as four bikes from isolated farms was low -risk crimes for gangs. The goods, transport containers hidden in the ports, he said.
“IT [thefts] There are so much profitable prizes that it is delicious to arrange crime gangs. Last week, he carried out a rural crime operation with partnership agencies that focus on the focusing on the focusing on human trade on highways.
However, not only Devon and Cornwall, where there is a connection between theft and the war in Ukraine.
In February, Lib Dem Deputy Alex Brewer for North East Hampshire said that the “day, every day” in the rural election zone encountered theft, flies and rabbits.
Authorized claimed that there are 22 active organized crime gangs targeting rural areas that have the ability to buy the goods stolen in international borders.
Rural crime debate, “Farming equipment is often monitored to Eastern Europe and Africa,” he said.
NFU Mutual’s Rural Affairs Specialist Hannah Binns said that the police, producers, farmers and insurers in a national rural criminal unit, said that progress was made to overcome rural crimes thanks to the close work of the insurers.
However, he said: “Rural crime goes beyond breaking those who feed our nation, and farmers and their families live in fear of targeting in their homes and fields of work.
“This is more related to the crime that has been increasingly organized in rural areas in recent years, the criminal gangs are following the rural areas and usually hit communities for a short time.”
Earlier this year, the Ministry of the Interior announced some of the rural crimes by giving £ 800,000 a share to aim to pursue farm equipment with an expert team called the National Rural Crime Unit.
A spokesman told Independent: “We strengthen the law to address the theft and re -sale of high -valuable agricultural equipment, and bring new powers to allow the police to enter the facilities where stolen elements are electronically monitored by GPS.”
At Devon and Cornwall, police and criminal commissioner Alison Hernandez said he was aware of the concern about the concern about farm theft and the connection between the war in Ukraine.
In contrast, civil servants in the region used Smartwater on the equipment, which means that internationally recognized and stolen machines could be recovered and returned.
Im I can be sure that the National Crime Agency is working with regional organized crime units and local police forces to solve the problem of theft of farm machines, ”he said.
