Police dog helps arrest A1 fuel theft suspects
Date of alert:
Wednesday, 28 February 2024
Crime Ref:
Force:
Nottinghamshire Police
Work by a Nottinghamshire Police dog and handler led to an evasive fuel theft suspect being sniffed out and arrested.
A farmer called police after spotting a 4×4, parked alongside the A1 southbound near Cromwell, suspected as being involved in the theft of diesel from lorries.
It then went into a nearby field where it was found abandoned. The empty vehicle contained barrels of diesel in the back, tools, and registration plates.
Neighbourhood officers attended along with dog handlers and police dogs as checks were carried out and a search of the area commenced.
PC Chris Duffy and Police Dog Reno started to track from the empty vehicle and PD Reno quickly picked up a scent which took the pair along the edge of the field and then up steep banking leading onto the road before heading towards the entrance to Cromwell Quarry.
The specially trained four-year-old German Shepherd then made his way into the thick hedgerow on the slip road at which point a man shouted he was coming out.
The man, who smelt heavily of diesel, was duly arrested by PC Duffy, around 11pm on Monday (26 February 2024), on suspicion of theft from a motor vehicle.
After officers carried out inquiries with lorry drivers, it was found that around 300 litres of diesel had been siphoned from a lorry parked in a layby off the A1 at Cromwell.
