A tractor worth £70,000 (€81,500) was reportedly stolen over the weekend on a farm at Doogary Road in Omagh, Co. Tyrone.
The New Holland T7.200, which was only two-years-old, was reported to have been stolen sometime between 11.30pm on Friday, November 11, and 8am on Saturday, November 12.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) is appealing for anyone with information or who may have witnessed any suspicious activity in the area following the theft to contact Omagh police station.
The PSNI has confirmed they are still searching the area for the stolen tractor, but there are no indications yet as to which way the tractor went following the theft.
A number of requests for local CCTV footage from businesses in the area has been made by the PSNI, according to the Investigating Officer.
We are still looking through footage, but as of yet there has been no sign of it driving on the road.
“We hope the tractor was driven on the road, because if it was loaded onto another vehicle it will be even more difficult to track,” he said.
The tractor was stolen from quite a large farmyard, where it was parked in a lane way close to the house, the investigating officer said.
The tractor had a low-loader trailer attached to it, but only the tractor was taken from the yard. The farm must have been scoped out for a while prior to the theft.
Despite agri-related thefts in the area being fairly common, a theft of this value is very rare, he said.
Recent Tractor Thefts in the West of Ireland
Gardai are appealing for information after three tractors, as well as some farm machinery, were stolen in north Co. Leitrim recently.
It is understood the farm machinery thefts took place on Friday, November 4, and in the early hours of Monday morning on November 7.
A total of three tractors were stolen, as well as a quad bike and a log splitter, from three separate locations in the Ballaghnabehy and Drumconnor area.
Gardai believe that an articulated lorry or trailer would have been needed to transport the machinery out of the area.
Anyone with any information is asked to call Carrick-on-Shannon Garda Station on 071 9650510.