A MAN has been summoned to court in connection with allegedly handling stolen goods valuing around £500,000.
William George Martin, 23, has been issued with a postal requisition to appear at Weymouth Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, October 2.
The Corfe Mullen resident has been accused of sixteen counts of handling stolen goods.
Two warrants were executed at rural locations in the east Dorset area on June 14, 2022 by officers from Dorset Police’s rural crime team and Hampshire police as part of Operation Hardware.
During the warrants, suspected stolen machinery, cash and other property was recovered with an approximate value of around £500,000.
Operation Hardware was an intelligence-led operation, created following a report of a suspicious incident in Hampshire that identified a vehicle as stolen from London, leading to warrants being carried out at addresses linked to the insured driver.
An 84-year-old man from east Dorset who was also previously arrested in connection with the investigation has been released without charge and will face no further police action.
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