AUTOMOTIVE Holdings Group (AHG) has taken the extraordinary step of offering a $20,000 reward to try and halt a spate of truck thefts and burglaries.
Nine trucks have been stolen during the past nine months from two AHG dealers in Great Eastern Highway, Belmont.
WA Hino dealer principal Simon McGovern said the latest theft was of a new 9-tonne truck with a retail value of $90,000. The truck was found burnt out in bushland at Gooseberry Hill.
Skipper Trucks dealer principal Simon Ramsay said seven trucks, ranging from utes to an 8t unit, had been stolen from his yard, and all but one was a write-off.
In other incidents at Skipper Trucks, windscreens were smashed on 20 trucks, radios were stolen from eight trucks, and a crane in the yard was used to roll over two trucks, which were extensively damaged.
“It was a blatant act of vandalism,”
Mr Ramsay told WA Business News.
At WA Hino, batteries, spare wheels and lights have been stolen from trucks and a car that was left in the yard overnight was torched and burnt out.
Major Trucks, also based in Belmont, has experienced similar problems with theft and burglary. Managing director Bob Pearce said the latest incident was the theft of engine components from several trucks.
“It was obviously someone with a fair knowledge of what they were doing,” Mr Major said.
All three of the truck yards have upgraded their security, with on-site guards, installation of bollards, more frequent patrols and improved fencing.
The reward will be paid for information leading a conviction in respect of the offences.
AHG has 27 vehicle and truck franchises across 13 dealerships, making it WA’s largest dealer group.
