Police investigators in Ireland discovered stolen farm machinery in the same county where they broke up a ring less than one month ago, according to a published report.
The lead investigator of the Garda Stolen Motor Vehicle Investigation Unit, which discovered a used John Deere 7730 tractor in North County Dublin, said new procedures are necessary when buying and selling used farm equipment. The Deere tractor is estimated to be worth €120,000 (more than $187,000).
"The 7730 we found last week had been bought by an unsuspecting farmer one month previously," Detective Sergeant Finbarr Garland told The Irish Independent. "We've traced it back to a John Deere dealer in Hampshire in the UK, where the machine was literally driven out of the yard last July."
The same unit of the Irish national police force last month found a ring of stolen farm machinery in the County Dublin town of Balscaddan. Searches that grew from that probe directed investigators to the discovery this past Saturday.
"But we need a better registration system," the detective said. "The production of an invoice alone shouldn't be enough. At the very least there should be a few days for background calls before a registration cert is issued."
Irish investigators find stolen Deere tractor in follow-up investigation
Irish police discovered additional stolen machinery as an offshoot of a December investigation.