Railway sleepers targeted in string of thefts across Whangārei businesses and KiwiRail

Greenfingers Growing Mixes in Kamo manager Max Cole said about 50 sleepers valued at about $100 each were stolen from the yard about three weeks ago. Photo / Brodie Stone

About $20,000 worth of wooden railway sleepers have been stolen across several Whangārei businesses and KiwiRail this year.

In the last two months alone, 180 sleepers had been stolen from the Whangārei Port area, KiwiRail and the Greenfingers garden supplies business, Whangārei area investigations manager Detective Senior Sergeant Shane Pilmer said.

Sleepers are often sold for about $100 each for landscaping and gardening, such as building retaining walls, flower beds or paths.

The latest thefts resulted in 115 going missing from the Port Whangārei area.

Pilmer said it would have taken quite some time to remove that number of sleepers, which were heavy and more than a metre long.

He suspected the sleepers were being sold. Police were working to ascertain who was responsible.

Greenfingers Growing Mixes in Kamo had about 50 sleepers stolen about three weeks ago when thieves cut through its chain-link security fence.

Director Sharon Cole said it was looking at more security measures after the theft, which cost the business $1000 in insurance excess.

The sleepers currently sold for $109 at the yard.

Cole said the thieves had been cunning by rewiring the fence so it wasn’t immediately obvious they had been targeted.

Kamo Greenfingers manager Max Cole said the “really hard to get” sleepers had been shipped as part of a large freight from Wellington.

They had spent at least $20,000 on better CCTV and other security measures in response to the thefts.

A further 40 sleepers were stolen from KiwiRail in Hikurangi in the last two months. In January, the Greenfingers at Kioreroa Rd had 25 go missing.

Pilmer said it was difficult at this stage to tell whether the thefts were linked.

“There is a chance that [the latest] is connected [but] I can’t say that from the earlier one in January.”

It was clear someone had found a niche for selling stolen sleepers.

While police had advised Greenfingers to take more security measures, he said protecting sleepers was more difficult for KiwiRail.

“They have a bulk amount of sleepers. Where do you put them?”

Their size meant they couldn’t be chained down, and he assumed putting them in a shed was impractical.

He encouraged people to contact the police if they were approached about cheap sleepers or had seen them being sold.

The chances were that, if a deal seemed too good to be true, it probably was, he said.

“Our Tactical Crime Unit is investigating and collating reports, and the team are keen to identify those responsible.”

Police asked anyone with information, such as vehicle registration numbers, to contact them on 105 using the reference number 250919/9513.

Information can also be provided anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.

KiwiRail has been approached for comment.

Brodie Stone covers crime and emergency for the Northern Advocate. She has spent most of her life in Whangārei and is passionate about delving into issues that matter to Northlanders and beyond.