Operation Livewire spot checks continue in Shropshire
Scrap metal dealers across Shropshire were today reminded that police could drop by for a spot check at any time as part of an ongoing campaign to clamp down on metal thefts.
Site bosses were urged to ensure their 'houses were in order' in case officers dropped by unexpectedly to check their stock and books for any possible irregularities or stolen goods.
Although the vast majority of scrap dealers operate legitimate businesses, thieves are still managing to sell on their ill-gotten metal and West Mercia Police is keen to get the message across that anyone found to have bought stolen goods could face arrest.
Today police, alone with various partner agencies including Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, British Transport Police, the Environment Agency, VOSA, the Department of Work and Pensions and SmartWater, carried out a check in and around Pennill’s Scrapyard in Hinstock, near Market Drayton.
Vehicles approaching the yard were stopped on route and checked by officers, to ensure that the occupants’ goods were legitimate and had the correct licence and insurance to operate as waste carriers.
Named Operation Ultra Violet, the checks were headed by Inspector Rik Klair, in charge of the north Shropshire section, and formed part of the ongoing Operation Livewire, a high profile campaign by West Mercia Police to tackle the theft of non-ferrous metals across Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin.
With thefts continuing to rise as a result of global demands for metals such as copper, lead and iron outstripping supply, officers are clamping down on those transporting and receiving scrap to ensure it has come from legitimate sources.
Detective Chief Inspector Alan Edwards, from West Mercia Police, said the theft if metal affects all of us in some way.
“Whether it is the lead stripped from your children’s school roof of your local church, copper piping and water tanks ripped out of newly-built houses or the risk of injury or serious damage to your car from driving into an open drain where the cover had been stolen, this is a crime which can have a big impact on communities” he said.
“Enough is enough and the police will not tolerate the criminals who continue to make people’s lives a misery by carrying out this crime.
”Every vehicle we see carrying scrap will be stopped and checked to ensure those on board have the correct licence and insurance and that the laden goods come from a legitimate source.
“The stuff is being sold on somewhere after it is nicked and we are doing spot checks at scrapyards across Shropshire. While the vast majority are properly and honestly run, we need to weed out those who are accepting metal they suspect or know to be stolen.
“My advice to all scrap metal merchants is to make sure your houses are in order so that if we stop by, you don’t find yourself arrested for handling stolen goods.”
In a separate incident one man and two male juveniles were due to appear in court today charged with theft, after police were called in March to lea Quarry in Much Wenlock following reports metal was being stolen.
All three were arrested at the scene on suspicion of stealing metal and were due to make their first appearance before Telford Magistrates’ Court.
In addition to visits to scrap dealers, Operation Livewire sees vehicles transporting metal stopped, the contents examined and their occupants checked for the relevant licence and insurance.
