Police are investigating the theft of this $100,000 John Deere 6420 tractor from a Devon Meadows market garden last week.By Alison Noonan
THE owners of a $100,000 tractor stolen from a Devon Meadows market garden have pleaded for its return.
Operations manager Brett Clarke said the theft of the John Deere 6420 tractor and plough, registration number SLR 409, from the Fisheries Road property last week had already had a marked effect on business.
He said the market garden relied on its only multitask tractor for ploughing crops before the busy season and would now have to wait at least six months for a new machine to be imported.
“The theft has affected us a lot,” Mr Clarke said.
“Business has really been slowed this week, just as we are starting to get into the busy season.
“We will now have to wait three to four weeks for a new plough to be made and we’ll be down a tractor until a new one is delivered from overseas.”
Mr Clarke said the business was already short of tractors and claimed the theft would put a real dent in production.
“We have about 10 different tractors but this one was the only one that could do a bit of everything,” he said.
“We are now going to have to buy a smaller or secondhand one and make do without this one until we get another.
“It has been a real pain.”
Employee Rebecca Thurlow said the tractor had been parked at the rear of the property when it was taken, sometime between 6pm and 7am on 1213 September.
She said that with trucks and tractors going in and out all day, it would not have seemed suspicious for it to be seen leaving the property.
Detective Senior Constable Greg Lee of Cranbourne CIU said police wanted anyone who may have information on the stolen tractor to come forward.
