Man who allegedly stole excavator from construction site busted | NT Independent

2021-12-31 01:03:40 By : Ms. Kitty Xu

by Independent Staff | Dec 2, 2021 | Cops | 0 comments

A public tip-off has led to the arrest of a man who allegedly stole a commercial excavator from a construction site three months ago, who was also found with illicit drugs and illegal firearms, including live ammunition, NT Police said.

NT Police earlier reported on September 14 that a 5 tonne, skid steer, red/orange in colour with a 1200L mud bucket attachment commercial excavator was stolen east of the Arnhem Highway, near the Adelaide River bridge crossing, sometime between September 10 and 12.

Strike Force Trident officers said they received a tip-off about the stolen machine and executed a warrant at a property in Berry Springs on Tuesday, where they located the five-tonne machine. It was unclear how the man transported the machine.

Authorities did not only find the missing excavator, they also found suspicious items from the 29-year-old man’s residence.

“During the execution of the search warrant, members observed a number of other suspicious items and sought an additional warrant to continue searching the property,” Constable David Emmott said.

In addition to the excavator, police located a stolen motorbike, a traffickable amount of methamphetamine and cannabis, two firearms, a large quantity of mixed ammunition, and other items indicative of drug supply.

The man was arrested on the spot and was later charged with multiple drug offenses, aggravated unlawful use of a motor vehicle, unlawful possession of property, multiple firearms violations, and possessing equipment to manufacture drugs.

The man was remanded in custody and was set to appear at the Darwin Local Court today.

“Thanks to the information received that led to the recovery of the stolen excavator, Police were also able to interrupt the supply of dangerous drugs into the community,” Constable Emmott said.

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