Suspected Stolen Goods Worth More Than £80,000 Seized In Swale

Suspected stolen items valued at more than £80,000 have been seized 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 over two days.

Kent Police were alerted to a theft in progress shortly after midnight on Thursday 18th 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, with a 27 year old man was later arrested in connection with the alleged theft.

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 17th 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.’