Gangs stealing GPS trackers from tractors for use in Ukraine war, Commons told

Macclesfield MP Tim Roca says insurance claims have risen by 137% this year, and rose sharply after the start of the conflict in February 2022.

The GPS units cost ‘a staggering £20,000’, an MP said (Danny Lawson/PA) (PA Archive)

GPS systems are being stolen from tractors and combine harvesters on farms for use in the Russia-Ukraine war, an MP has claimed.

Labour MP Tim Roca told a debate on rural affairs that thefts by organised crime gangs have meant insurance claims on the units have increased 137% this year, after an initial rise following the start of the conflict in February 2022.

The GPS systems can be reconfigured to be used helping guide weaponry on the battlefield.

It is now feared (GPS systems) are being stolen and reconfigured as hardware in guidance systems being used in the war on the other side of the continent

Tim Roca, Labour MP

Data from NFU Mutual suggests that theft is worth an estimated £4.2 million.

Mr Roca joined calls from MPs to introduce immobilisers and forensic marking for agricultural equipment being sold to deter thieves.

The Macclesfield MP said: “What’s most shocking to me, most recently in this area, in Macclesfield and Cheshire, is the potential links to the war in Ukraine.

“Since 2022 there has been a rise, particularly in the theft of GPS units from Cheshire’s farm vehicles by organised crime gangs from Eastern Europe.

“Insurance claims on these GPS units has increased by 137% last year alone.

“And each one of these GPS units cost a staggering £20,000 and they’re used by farmers to guide tractors and combine harvesters and other machinery to improve accuracy.

“But it is now feared that they are being stolen and reconfigured as hardware in guidance systems being used in the war on the other side of the continent.”

It comes as Cheshire’s police and crime commissioner Dan Price led a joint letter signed by the county’s five MPs to manufacturers and the Government urging them to take action to stop them being stolen.

The letter, sent in mid-October, was also signed by the National Farmers Union (NFU) and the National Rural Crime Unit (NRCU).

It asked manufactures to retrospectively add forensic marking on GPS devices, farm transport and machinery to stop them being stolen.

Gangs reportedly visit several farms in one night.

Mr Price claimed that gangs often return to the same farm to steal replaced devices.

He added: “I want… to call on the Government to do more to improve security on essential farm equipment by working with manufacturers. I think this is a really practical thing that we can do.

It is not like this Act is in any way controversial. We just need (the regulations) to be moved to give the police the powers they need

Conservative backbencher Greg Smith

“Not only do we need immobilisation technology, we also need forensic marking, in particular on this gear, so they can be tracked through the labyrinth of organised criminal gangs.”

Mr Roca’s proposal was backed by Conservative backbencher Greg Smith, who said the Government should implement his law designed to prevent theft of all-terrain vehicles, by having forensic markers and immobilisers fitted.

It could be extended to other farm equipment, including GPS trackers.

The Mid Buckinghamshire MP previously tabled the law as a private member’s bill.

Although MPs backed it, ministers are yet to lay the regulations required to set up restrictions on buying and selling equipment if it does not meet certain standards.

Mr Smith claimed his party’s ministers had regulations “ready to go at the point of the general election being called” earlier this year but “the dissolution of Parliament obviously thwarted that”.

Mr Smith told MPs: “This was an Act that passed with support from the then-opposition, the Labour Party. They weren’t howling it down. They weren’t attacking it in second reading or committee stage or third reading in either House.

“It is not like this Act is in any way controversial. We just need (the regulations) to be moved to give the police the powers they need.”