Rural Task Force seizes suspected stolen goods worth more than £80,000

Suspected stolen items valued at more than £80,000 have been seized in two days following work by the Rural Task Force in Swale.

Caravans, vehicles and cabling were recovered, and a suspected copper thief arrested, after officers targeted locations in Sittingbourne, Newington and the Isle of Sheppey.

Theft reported

Kent Police was alerted to a theft in progress shortly after midnight on Thursday 18 September 2025. It was reported that copper cabling had been taken from an industrial site in Minster.

Officers attended and enquiries were carried out which led patrols to a rural area of land near Newington.

A search that morning led to the recovery of a large quantity of copper cable, estimated to be worth around £7,000. A 27 year old man was later arrested in connection with the alleged theft.

Lee Craddock, head of security at UK Power Networks, said: ‘We worked with Kent Police overnight Wednesday to trace and recover cables reported stolen from temporary generators serving residents in the Isle of Sheppey and an arrest was made. Tampering with electricity equipment is dangerous and disruptive for our communities. We thank Kent Police for their support and urge the public to report any suspicious activity around electricity equipment to them.’

On the same day, a Bobcat excavator reportedly stolen from Ashford in January 2024 was seized from a site in Eastchurch.

It followed the recovery of two caravans from a location in Bobbing on Wednesday 17 September 2025. One was allegedly taken from Guildford, Surrey in 2021, and the other, from Much Wenlock, Shropshire in July 2025.

A quad bike, also believed to have been stolen, was recovered from the same location, along with a Kubota KX36-3 1.5 ton digger, reportedly taken from the Sittingbourne area in 2019. Three suspects remain under investigation for the thefts.

Sergeant Ross Haybourne, from the Rural Task Force, said: ‘Since January 2024, our team has seized more than £3.5 million in suspected stolen items as part of our crackdown on countryside crime in Kent. This has been achieved through proactive policing, community engagement and targeted activity. ‘We will continue our operations to target those whose criminal activity would impact our rural businesses and residents. This includes tracking down stolen plant, farm and agricultural machinery, as well as caravans and leisure vehicles, and seeking out offenders to bring them to justice.’