Officers from Nowogrodziec caught three men red-handed as they attempted to steal 30 metres of railway rails. In addition, during a search, police recovered a car transporter trailer worth approximately PLN 9,000.
Police officers from the Police Station in Nowogrodziec arrested three residents of Bolesławiec County, aged between 30 and 36. The suspects were apprehended while attempting to steal railway tracks from a disused railway line located near the A-18 motorway. They arrived at the crime scene in a borrowed car transporter, which they intended to use to haul away 30 metres of tracks weighing nearly 1.5 tonnes in total.
The rails had been cut into smaller pieces using a hacksaw, which officers secured at the crime scene. The tracks were valued at nearly PLN 1,400.
During a search of the property belonging to one of the detainees, police found a car transporter trailer that had been obtained through a crime. The trailer was stolen from a garage in Legnica County in November 2017. Police are now determining how the trailer ended up in the 34-year-old's yard.
The recovered property, worth approximately PLN 9,000, was returned to its owner.
All the detainees have already been charged with attempted theft of railway tracks and face up to five years in prison. One of the suspects has previous convictions for offences against property.