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Monday, February 17, 2025

Police operation leads to arrests for alleged fuel thefts

A two-day police operation has led to a number of arrests as officers persevere with their action on fuel thefts.

The deployment saw officers come together from the Reacher and neighbourhood teams, accompanied by a drone pilot, covert HGV driver and intelligence officers.

The operation was equipped with the off road 4×4, mobile ANPR, thermal imaging goggles and night vision goggles, officers followed a van after spotting it parked up at the side of the A1 near Elksley and the driver appearing to tamper with a fuel cap.

Following their suspicions, police stopped the van while it was parked behind two trucks in another A1 layby near Ranby village.

Officers found the fuel cap from one of the trucks on the ground and also discovered a number of large empty diesel drums and syphoning equipment in the back of the van.

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The operation was launched in 2020 in response to a number of fuel thefts from along the A1 corridor. These incidents are often also associated with damage to nearby land as suspects trespass on the land.

During the action this week (Wednesday 2 and Thursday 3 February 2022), officers were driving a covert ‘capture lorry’ to gather evidence.

As a result of this incident on Wednesday night, a 15-year-old boy and a 17-year-old boy were arrested at the scene. They have since been released under investigation and the investigation team will now develop the evidence further.

Sergeant Christian Hurley leads ‘Operation Magna’ for Nottinghamshire Police and said: “This operation, which is well into it’s second year of being implemented, has seen many successes. Through having cameras on board, as well as using police drones, we are able to gather the evidence needed to capture offenders.

“The ability to deliver this type of proactive work is vital in our fight against rural crimes.

“Fuel theft can have a significant impact on hard-working local businesses, which is why this wide-ranging proactive operation was set up.

Chief Inspector Heather Sutton, Nottinghamshire Police’s lead for rural crime, said: “This operation is one of many enforcement actions which people can see as part of our rural crime plan launched last month.

“These types of crimes have a huge impact on multiple victims; the driver, the haulage company, the land owner and surrounding residents. We are dedicated, as a force, to our proactive work to both detect this and prevent this from happening across the county.

“Officers are also offering advice to those who may be affected, and in particular we would promote the use of ‘Park Mark’ accredited lorry parks, such as the Newark Lorry Park on Great North Road.”

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