09 February 2011
Hamilton Police believe thieves used a large degree of sophistication to steal equipment from a water treatment plant that the victims estimate will cost tens of thousands of dollars to replace.
City Deployment Manager, Inspector Karen Henrikson, said thieves cut through a neighbouring fence and dug a tunnel under concrete to get pass an electrified security fence as they broke into the Hamilton City Council's water treatment plant to steal 10 bronze water pump impellers.
"I'm not going to go into other security arrangements in place at the plant other than to say they were more than adequate. This appears to have been a professional burglary that was well planned."
"Two of the larger impellers, which are valued at $60-80,000, were taken while three medium and five smaller devices are missing as well as the castings. We understand the medium and larger devices need to be sourced from the UK while the smaller ones were fabricated locally."
Ms Henrikson said the water pump impellers are very distinctive and are only used in the specific pumps operated by the Hamilton City Council.
"To that end we're not ruling out the items may have been stolen for scrap metal value so we are liaising with scrap metal dealers not only in Hamilton but across the country.
"The heaviest items taken weigh between 100-200kg and would have considerable scrap metal value."
While the theft of such specialized equipment was a disappointment, Hamilton City Council general manager works and services, Chris Allen, said the loss had not affected their ability to deliver high quality water to the city.
"We're very disappointed with this theft and will be reviewing the plant security arrangements to see if we can make some improvements," he said.
Ms Henrikson said Police wanted to hear from anyone with any information on those responsible for the theft or who has been approached about buying or moving on large quantities of bronze equipment or material.
"People who have such information are asked to contact the Hamilton Police Station on 07 858 6200 or they can leave information anonymously on the CrimeStoppers crimeline, 0800 555111.
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