Police have charged six men as part of an investigation into a suspected rural theft and burglary conspiracy worth nearly a million pounds.
Large amounts of plant and agricultural machinery, pick-up trucks, vans and power tools were stolen over a two-year period.
Nearly £1 million worth of items were taken in total during a series of large-scale thefts and commercial burglaries across the East Midlands region.
Properties in the Rushcliffe and Gedling areas of Nottinghamshire were among those targeted, between April 2020 and June 2022.
Nottinghamshire Police and Lincolnshire Police launched an extensive joint investigation to track down and catch those responsible.
As part of this, warrants were carried out at six properties on Wednesday morning (3 May) by officers from Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and Leicestershire.
These synchronised warrants targeted six different addresses in Newark, Screveton and East Bridgford, in Nottinghamshire, and Dunham on Trent, in Lincolnshire.
Six suspects were all arrested and later charged with conspiracy to commit theft and conspiracy to commit burglary.
The suspects, who have been linked to 65 different offences between them, have appeared before Lincoln Magistrates’ Court.
Detective Inspector Dave Harrop, from Lincolnshire Police, said rural crime was one of the force's priorities and an important focus.
He said: "We have invested in dedicated resources, including our Rural Crime Action Team, to investigate and bring organised criminals to justice.
“We arrested six people in partnership with our forces and they have today been charged. Investigations are ongoing.”
Detective Sergeant Rich Kinsey, of Nottinghamshire Police, added: “This extensive investigation has involved close collaboration between multiple police forces, with a dedicated team of detectives focusing solely on rural crime.
"The theft of vehicles, plant and agricultural machinery can have an absolutely debilitating impact on local businesses and on people’s livelihoods.
"This crime series resulted in almost a million pounds worth of equipment being stolen from a number of different commercial addresses across the region over a two-year period."
