![Tractor sitting in field on a farm.](https://aboutregional.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/TractorKateRaymond-810x540.jpg)
Two men were arrested on Tuesday, 2 February, in connection with alleged theft of farming equipment. Photo: Kate Raymond.
Two men have been arrested over an alleged rural crime spree in the Canberra region, where several hundred thousand dollars’ worth of farming equipment and chemicals were reportedly stolen.
NSW Police said the Monaro Police District’s Rural Crime Investigation Team and the Australian Federal Police began a joint investigation in May 2020 after a number of alleged rural break-and-enters and thefts.
Police said the alleged thefts targeted government chemical storage facilities, private farms and Rural Fire Service sheds, with the stolen chemicals including herbicides and pesticides.
“Following inquiries, investigators recovered a significant amount of stolen chemicals, property and machinery later that month [May 2020],” a police spokesperson said on Wednesday, 3 February.
In August 2020, a 25-year-old man was charged with breaking and entering a house to steal.
Then on Tuesday, 2 February, NSW Police arrested a 34-year-old man and a 29-year-old man at Queanbeyan Police Station. Both men were charged with two counts of breaking, entering and stealing, larceny and participating in a criminal group.
The charges relate to alleged thefts from businesses and properties at Googong, Hoskinstown and Primrose Valley, which are neighbouring localities to southeast Canberra.
Both men were granted conditional bail to appear at Queanbeyan Local Court on 29 March.
Original Article published by Albert McKnight on The RiotACT.