Three arrested as £100,000 in stolen property recovered

Three people have been arrested and charged as more than £100,000 in stolen property was recovered.

The items, including barbecues, bikes, lawn mowers and Christmas trees, were taken from Leslie’s Bike Store in Glenrothes, Fife, and two garden centres, one in Dunfermline, also Fife, and the other in Broxburn, West Lothian.

The thefts from the bike shop took place on December 9 while the Dunfermline garden centre incident was on October 17 and Broxburn was November 30.

Items were recovered following a search of addresses in Ayr and Prestwick, both South Ayrshire, and Auchentiber, North Ayrshire, on Wednesday.

Two men, aged 48 and 34, and a 36-year-old woman were arrested and charged. They are expected to appear at court at a later date.

Detective constable Fraser Simpson said: “The incidents were reported last year and as a result of our investigation, we are now able to return the property to its rightful owners.

“We believe there are still a number of bikes outstanding so if anyone has been offered bikes for sale in Ayrshire recently, perhaps at a reduced price or unusual circumstances, I would encourage people to please contact us on 101 quoting incident number 0862 of December 9 2019.”