A BACCHUS Marsh man has been arrested following a Police investigation into a series of alleged wool thefts in Melbourne earlier this year.
The 47-year-old man was arrested in Spotswood on Tuesday and was taken to a nearby police station for questioning.
He has been released and is expected to be charged on summons for theft and deception-related offences. A search warrant was executed in Laverton North where wool samples and documents were seized.
“We know that these kinds of incidents can have serious ramifications for the farming community with impacts on productivity, income and livelihoods,” Victoria Police detective inspector Jamie Templeton said.
“We will keep the community updated on these issues and the continued efforts of police to combat criminal activity in the farming and agricultural industry.”
Victoria Police announced its investigation into a wool tampering operation after a number of wool brokers reported cases of their wool being tampered with since May this year.
Police allege 16 bales of Merino fleece had been removed from bales and substituted with crossbred, sweepings and contaminated black wool. The wool was then exported to China, where buyers discovered the bales had been replaced with inferior wool.