A gang of thieves who stole nearly £1 million worth of agricultural equipment will spend Christmas behind bars after being sentenced to prison for years.
The six men were behind a large-scale rural theft and burglary conspiracy that lasted for more than two years, police say.
The organised crime group repeatedly targeted different rural communities across the East Midlands between April 2020 and June 2022 – causing their victims to lose more than £910,000 worth of equipment in the process.
Agricultural machinery, pick-up trucks, Land Rovers, vans and power tools were all taken by the gang during a series of large-scale thefts and commercial burglaries.
These included from farms and properties in the Rushcliffe and Gedling areas of Nottinghamshire, as well as across Lincolnshire and the surrounding East Midlands region.
Led by Colin Warriner, the group 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.
After an initial investigation and a series of warrants by Nottinghamshire Police, a significant number of vehicles and vehicle parts were recovered.
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 and put them in a position where they were able to carry out a series of synchronised early morning raids on 3 May 2023.
Officers from Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and Leicestershire worked together to execute six warrants at the same time at different addresses across counties.
Police managed to retrieve a phone a suspect had tried to flush down the toilet at one of the addresses, while two knuckledusters, large quantities of cash and several other phones were also seized during the raids.
The men - Colin Warriner, Dominic Alderton, Aaron Booth, Gary Self, Stefan Ward and John Watson - were all detained as part of the police sting and later pleaded guilty to charges of conspiring to steal from another.
Each of them appeared for sentencing at Lincoln Crown Court on 15 December, where they were jailed for a combined 12 years and four months.
Detective Sergeant Richard Kinsey, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “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.
“All told, this rural theft conspiracy resulted in nearly a million pounds worth of vehicles, plant and agricultural equipment being stolen, which will have had a devastating impact on these businesses and families.
“The theft of these types of items can have an absolutely debilitating impact on the local businesses that rely on them."
He added: "This operation was ultimately successful, and we are delighted to have now seen six participants of this organised crime group sentenced for their crimes."
