Items reported stolen
A three-ton excavator vehicle, a quad bike, heating oil and copper cabling are among stolen items police have reported in parts of Argyll and Bute.
Officers have reported six instances of heating oil allegedly being stolen in the Oban Lorn and the Isles, and Mid Argyll, Kintyre and the Islands, areas recently.
The excavator was reportedly taken from Bridge of Orchy, while in January, an attempt is said to have been made to steal a tractor in Campbeltown.
In addition, officers believe the quad bike theft may be linked to serious and organised crime groups operating throughout the country.
The details feature in a report to go before Argyll and Bute Council’s Oban Lorn and the Isles community planning group on Wednesday, May 13.
The report said: “Recently we have seen a rise in theft of heating oil, a total number of six in our area. This is in line with a national trend.
“As a division we are co-ordinating the police response by increasing our rural patrols. There has also been a number of social media posts put out highlighting the issue, requesting members of the public to be vigilant of any suspicious activity."
In total there were 34 reports of theft, six theft by housebreaking, which includes sheds, and eight reported theft by shoplifting.
Business owners have also been encouraged to use the Police Scotland online reporting tool, to report shoplifting. This is an online form which is then processed.
“The price of copper has increased significantly recently and we saw the theft of copper cabling from a yard in Lochgilphead earlier in the year.
“We have also had one report of theft of lightning conducting cabling from a mobile phone mast in rural Argyll. As a response we have contacted local businesses whom we deemed vulnerable to theft to provide security advice," said the report.
It added: “Thankfully there have been few [agricultural crime] offences since the last reporting period although of note, there was an attempted theft of a tractor in Campbeltown earlier in January, with enquiries ongoing. There was also theft of plant, three-ton excavator from Bridge of Orchy.
“Rural Argyll does always remain vulnerable to organised criminals who sometimes target isolated rural locations for high value plant or machinery equipment or target remote infrastructure for high value components or metals.
“While these offences are very rare, we do welcome the vigilance of our communities and encourage the reporting of any suspicious activity that seems unusual or out of the ordinary.”
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