By Rory Reynolds
POLICE are hunting an organised gang after they raided a steel works and made off with more than £20,000 in high value metal.
The culprits cut the chains to the outer gates of 3D Precision Engineering in Kirkcaldy, Fife, before driving a saloon car through the building’s roller shutters.
It is thought that the incident – which occurred on Sunday evening around 9.10pm – is the result of weeks of meticulous planning and preparing by the criminal gang.
The company, based at the Mitchelston Industrial Estate, use high-end inconel steel – a quality material which is used to manufacture parts and shape material for use the oil industry.
Scott Bonnar, director of the steel firm, said that the one of the thieves might even have been in the building in the weeks before the raid.He said: “I don’t know if these guys are local or if they’ve come in from somewhere else, but this looks like this is someone who has been watching for some time.
Watching
“It’s somebody who knows there is something here, and it may even be someone who has been here themselves in the last few weeks.
“Our materials come in on unlettered trucks, like unmarked vehicles, so they wouldn’t know what was coming in unless they had been watching.
“The police told me that they’d brought bolt cutters with them to use on the front gates and they’ve forced the shutter door open using a car as well.
“There are a couple of tubes that are almost half finished, costing £2,150 each, and there are eight solid rods of steel missing, they cost £1,065 each.
“Some of the parts that have been worked on would be identifiable, to me anyway.
Raw
“But some of the raw material, blocks of metal, are only marked with permanent marker, and you can get that off with WD40 and stuff like that.
“I’m sure the police will do their job and catch these guys – I’ve been very impressed with the way the police have investigated it so far.”
Police also believe that the gang may have had knowledge of the layout of the building and the kind of metal they were looking for and are currently searching for a dark blue saloon, believed to be a Volkswagen Passat.
Fife Police’s PC Mark Beveridge, who is heading up the investigation said: “I would appeal for anyone with information on the identity of the persons responsible, or who may have any information regarding the vehicle or the whereabouts of the metal, to get in touch.”
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