FOLLOWING the theft of a trailer carrying a motorcycle at about midday on Friday, August 2, from Hamilton Place, police are urging tradies, retailers and farmers in particular, to record serial numbers on tools and equipment.

Hamilton Police crime investigation unit, Detective Sergeant Mark James said a vehicle was intercepted on Monday August 5, believed to be involved in the crime, with a number of tools located in the back, also believed to be stolen.

“There was a quantity of tools located on the back of the ute that were suspected as being stolen,” he said.

“The stolen trailer was located on the same day at Bulart.”

Det Sgt James said two men were arrested and interviewed.

One was charged with drug possession. Further charges are likely pending investigation.

The investigation led police to a property near Ararat where another stolen vehicle, a Toyota Hilux, and another motorbike were located - these were related to another burglary at Gatum which occurred around the same time.

“What complicated things was this was all happening around Sheepvention,” Det Sgt James said.

“Farms can be particularly vulnerable at the best of times, but when people are away from their farms, that’s when they can be targeted.

“Further stolen items were located at the property in Ararat including a Stihl chainsaw, which was able to be reunited with its owner because of serial numbers.”

He said a 2016 Yamaha YZ 250 and a firearm remain outstanding.

“Enquiries with Stihl Australia revealed that the owner of the chainsaw was the subject of the burglary that hadn’t been reported yet - we were able to contact the owner through identification,” Det Sgt James said.

“The issue we have is that people don’t record serial numbers - no one thinks their stuff will get nicked when you buy it - in this case the offences were all local, so we were able to put it together.

“I’m pushing, particularly tradies, and farmers to take photographs - Stihl are particularly good - it’s invaluable to us as they can tell us who purchased it.”

Det Sgt James said simple things could make it easier to recover stolen items.

“Spend a couple of minutes taking a photo of everything when you buy it, showing the model and serial number so that if it gets lost or stolen, we can search it and locate it,” he said.

“Text yourself the rego - it gives time and date stamp.

“Farm crime is a challenge,” Det Sgt James said.

“People leave tractors in paddocks - that sort of thing - I’d really encourage sensors, lights and cameras - they instantly alert your phone when there’s activity - that technology is fairly cheap to get now.

“We also located an 18-volt transfer pump which is very easy to steal fuel - we have had a number vehicles and quite a few reports of stolen fuel around the district recently

“These pumps can pump 30 litres a minute - it doesn’t take long to fuel a car up.”

Det Sgt James also strongly encouraged people to go to the Victoria Police website at police.vic.gov.au to get some helpful resources regarding security.

“Click on the search button and type farm crime,” he said.

“There’s a whole heap of resources available to people that will come up - security checklist - there’s links how to contact farm crime liaison officer.”

He also strongly advised people not to post anything on social media regarding suspicious activity.

“Please let us know before you share stuff on social media,” Det Sgt James said.

“Criminals follow social media too. “I really encourage people to contact Crime Stoppers - it’s very easy for us to filter out stuff that’s not suspicious.”