The police have recovered a JCB loader worth around £25,000 after a dealer in large plant machinery saw it listed for sale on Facebook Marketplace.
The dealer checked the 3.5-tonne JCB 535-125 telescopic handler details in The Equipment Register (TER), a database of stolen plant and equipment which claims to be the largest in Europe.
The loader matched a reported theft from the Devon and Cornwall region at the end of February 2024.
The dealer promptly provided details of the sale listing, including its alleged location in the Hayle area of Cornwall, to TER, which passed the information to Devon and Cornwall Police for the recovery operation.
Criminals are increasingly using online platforms such as Facebook Marketplace to trade construction and farming equipment, said TER.
The anonymity offered by these platforms allows thieves to list stolen items with minimal risk of detection, often using fake profiles and untraceable contact details, and deleting listings once a sale is completed to evade authorities.
TER’s database currently holds 1.85 million items, including 850,000 trailers and 250,000 horseboxes. The register also has access to other external databases to help provide a comprehensive history of a vehicle or item.
‘Critical to verify legitimacy of machinery’
Treve Jenkyn, the data director at TER, said: “This case serves as a good example of how critical it is for buyers to verify the legitimacy of machinery and trailers before purchasing.
“Thanks to the diligence of the dealer and our collaboration with Devon and Cornwall Police, this stolen JCB was successfully recovered for the owner. We urge buyers to always check with The Equipment Register before making any purchase to help combat the illegal trade of stolen goods.”
The Construction Plant-hire Association, the Construction Equipment Association and other organisations are contributing a total of £210,000 annually over the next two years to help fund the National Rural Crime Unit and the National Construction & Agriculture Theft Team (NCATT), a specialist police unit focused on recovering stolen plant and agricultural equipment.
NCATT recovered almost £6.3m of stolen plant and equipment in 2023 and £10.5m in 2024, as well as making 254 arrests. So far in 2025, almost £5.4m of stolen plant and equipment has been recovered, with 68 arrests.
An excellent system which is not widely advertised and should receive more coverage so owners of plant that has been stolen can benefit from the scheme