Police recover $45,000 worth of stolen property in Levin

Police recovered about $34,000 worth of stolen tools and a stolen trailer worth $11,000. PHOTO / FILE

Levin Police have recovered $45,000 worth of stolen property following the execution of two search warrants in the area last week.

A Levin man has been charged with receiving stolen property after it was recovered from a residential property and a workshop.

The 36-year-old man will appear in Levin District Court on April 26.

The haul of goods included approximately $34,000 worth of stolen tools and a stolen trailer worth $11,000.

Detective Sergeant Karen Heald of Levin Police said police had so far identified 15 victims and reunited them with their stolen items.

"The fact that we have been able to so quickly identify who the tools belong to and return them to their owners is a great result," he said.

"And it's purely down to the fact that the owners had engraved or marked their tools in such a way that we could easily identify who they belonged to.

"We would encourage all builders to follow their example."

Advice from police on how to reduce the risk of offenders targeting your tools and increase the prospect of having your property returned, included; engraving tools with a driver licence number and keeping a record of serial numbers.

Police also suggested taking tools home with you, or locking them up in a shed.

Construction companies that own tools are encouraged to engrave company names and phone numbers on to tools, and second hand dealers and the public should be wary of tools being offered to them at a price that's too good to be true.