A man has been charged following an investigation into a break and enter that saw firefighting and other equipment allegedly stolen from a rural fire brigade earlier this year.
Sometime between Monday 10 April 2023 and Friday 14 April 2023, an unknown person/s allegedly broke into a fire brigade shed on Clarence Way, Fine Flower, about 70km west of Yamba.
Police have been told that over $35,000 worth of equipment was allegedly stolen from the brigade, including chainsaws, generators, firefighting equipment, and communications equipment.
Upon being notified, officers from the Northern Zone Rural Crime Prevention Team commenced an investigation into the incident.
Following extensive inquiries, a search warrant was executed at a property on Stockyard Creek Road, Stockyard Creek, about 9.30am yesterday (Wednesday 30 August 2023).
A subsequent search of the property allegedly revealed items believed to been stolen including firefighting equipment, a chainsaw, a petrol blower, medical and communications equipment.
The search also allegedly revealed a firearm, 2.2kg of cannabis, 652g of cannabis seeds and seven cannabis plants.
The items were seized and will undergo forensic examination.
A 46-year-old man was arrested at the scene before being taken to Grafton Police Station.
There he was charged with two counts of possess prohibited drug, cultivate prohibited plant, receive/dispose stolen property, possess unregistered firearm, and not keep firearm safely.
He was refused bail to appear before Grafton Local Court today (Thursday 31 August 2023).
Anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000 or https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au. Information is treated in strict confidence. The public is reminded not to report information via NSW Police social media pages.
