Big haul of stolen tools in Gloucestershire

[Eric The Viking]

I think this belongs here, because it's definitely "on-topic" if you are a tradesperson, but if the mods want to move it elsewhere...

I got this info from the local Neighbourhood Watch distribution: cooperation between Avon & Somerset and Gloucestershire police:

Haul of suspected stolen tools seized by police in Gloucestershire working with Avon and Somerset officers
08 March 2018 at 15:32

Officers from two forces have worked together to recover a quantity of stolen tools.

We had at least four calls on Wednesday 7 March reporting that work vans had been broken into and tools stolen in the Clifton and Redland areas of Bristol.

One of the victims had fitted a tracking device to his toolbox, which led officers to a location in Gloucestershire. We and colleagues from Gloucestershire Police visited the location in Brookthorpe on Wednesday afternoon and seized a large number of power tools and other items.

Some of the items have already been identified as being stolen from vans in Bristol on Wednesday morning, and returned to their owners. We're reviewing the other items for identifiable marks and will be working hard to reunite them with their owners too, but expect that this process will take some time and it may be several weeks before people hear from us.

If you need to contact us, please do so online with your crime reference number and anything identifiable about your tools and mentioning reference 5218049367 so it can be linked and checked.

Two people remain in police custody in Gloucestershire at the time of writing - a man arrested on suspicion of handling stolen goods, and a woman arrested on suspicion of theft.

Bear in mind these thieves operated primarily in the Bristol area, apparently. Avon and Somerset Police give this link: http://bit.ly/1T39W48 and ask people have a crime ref. # to include with their enquiry.

 

[Woody2Shoes]

Sounds like a win for the "tracking device" - I wonder where I could get one or two of those....

 

[sunnybob]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mini-Hidden- ... Sw8vNaU1Ak

 

[Kev]

Has anyone tried something like this? What did you do about a power source. I assume a battery but just wondered how one would go about this.

 

[Kev]

Having looked into further it was probably something like this I guess. Bit pricey but hey if you get your tools back then bargain I suppose.
https://back2you.com/product/anti-theft-toolbox-tracker/?gclid=CjwKCAjwypjVBRANEiwAJAxlIlL1gQfUB0lb1Kn0BjiKhTFPnrYRVsDiIBhoAJ-N72iUXb4dpPD39RoCZzwQAvD_BwE

 

[Brandlin]

This picture from that ebay advert... especially the bottom right lol

 

[Steliz]

The tracking devices linked don't seem to have much battery life and they also seem to be quite bulky, even the one the size of a cig lighter, which would surely make them easy to find (and shove down the throat of an angry wolf like in the Bourne film!)

 

[porker]

The problem is the GPS that they rely on is quite power hungry. Also as GPS usually doesn't work indoors so the tracking is lost. Probably quite difficult to hide in a toolbox. My neighbour had a (hired) excavator stolen and first thing they ripped out was the tracking device which he found on his drive.

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

 

[ScaredyCat]

Yeah, but they probably wouldn't search a dewalt box for a tracker. As for batteries... well, if you were crafty you'd have the tracker in a box with all those batteries ... you know, for power...

 

[Kev]

This picture from that ebay advert... especially the bottom right lol

Surely the husband would be easy to find. Just look for the drunk guy carrying round a car battery.