Around $1.5 million in heavy equipment was recovered from a property in Wetaskiwin County earlier this month and one man is now facing more than a dozen theft charges. Mounties searched a property near Range Road 254 on Feb. 11 after receiving a tip about a stolen bulldozer and excavator, both which were confirmed to be there by a remotely piloted drone. Police found multiple stolen items, including three semi tractors, seven trailers, a skid steer, two tractors, one vehicle and a sea can carrying $175,000 worth of industrial hosing. They also recovered numerous pieces of machinery. All of these items, Mounties say, are linked to 16 thefts from Parkland County, Wetaskiwin County, Fort Saskatchewan, Leduc County, Ponoka and Edmonton. Sgt. Kelly Kraal of the RCMP’s Central Alberta crime unit said the recovered hosing was from a theft in January of last year. “It’s been on the property, we believe, for quite some time,” he told media at a press conference Wednesday. “Other items were taken fairly recently.” He added that in the last couple of months, his unit has noticed an uptick in stolen tractor-trailer units. Some of the equipment recovered this month was being used personally on the property. Some had been taken apart and prepared for sale, he said. “Items like this are ordinarily used for personal use, when we talk about tractors, skid steers, tractor-trailer units,” Kraal said. “It’s not often items that police check the VINs when we go to a property (because) you assume, they’re on a farm. You have no reason to investigate.” Four people were originally arrested during the search, but three were released pending investigation. One man is facing 14 charges for possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000. He remains in custody. Kraal said the people arrested during the search were prolific offenders and known to police for similar investigations. The recovered equipment may not make it back into the hands of original owners depending on the state of their insurance payouts, but Kraal said the bulldozer and excavator were both picked up and returned to their home in Brazeau County. With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Galen McDougall
