Jail sentences for two men involved in theft of 45 GPS kits

Two men have been jailed for their role in a series of high-value farm equipment thefts, following extensive investigations by Humberside Police and North Yorkshire Police.

Tomas Staukauskas, 32, of Beverley Road, Hull and Mantas Palionis, 31, of Abbey Street, Hull were sentenced on Tuesday (21 November) at Hull Crown Court, having previously pleaded guilty to handling stolen goods and going equipped for theft.

See also: Advice on countering GPS theft

An investigation was launched after officers located a car that had been identified as being involved in multiple thefts in late September.

The driver of the car, Staukauskas, was arrested after an on-foot chase. Inside the car, a substantial amount of large farming GPS devices were found, several of which had been reported as stolen.

They were wrapped in tinfoil to prevent the signal of the devices being detected.

Following a warrant at an address on Abbey Street, in Hull, another stolen van was found, containing a GPS signal jamming device and false plates. Palionis was duly arrested.

Further GPS devices were found inside another storage unit.

‘Calculating criminals’

Humberside Police officer Andrew Green described the two men as “calculating criminals”.

“Their crimes will have undoubtedly have had an impact nationally, leaving farmers without vital equipment that they need to do their jobs.

“I hope this serves as a stark reminder to people that we take all reports of rural crime incredibly seriously.

“The theft of agricultural GPS receivers continues to be a local priority for our force and we will not tolerate anyone who thinks it is OK to target our farmers in this way.”

Staukauskas, who also pleaded guilty to breaching a deportation order, was sentenced to four years in prison.

Palionis, who pleaded guilty to several driving offences, was sentenced to three years.

‘Fantastic news’

Bob Henderson, head of engineering at rural insurer NFU Mutual, said the convictions and the recovery of 48 GPS units and screens worth over £200,000 was “fantastic news”.

“The scale of GPS theft has worryingly ramped up in recent years,” he said.

“Our data shows that in 2022, the cost of GPS theft increased by 15% to £1.8m and, alarmingly, early claim figures suggest the cost more than doubled for the first four months of 2023.”

He advised farmers to remain on their guard by updating their security, recording any serial numbers and photographing GPS kit.