Criminals sabotage, steal Dirranbandi farmer's machinery

Mr Sevil, who farms with his family at Whyenbah in the Dirranbandi area, was alerted by workers on Monday morning after they noticed something wasn't right in one of the irrigation paddocks, which was harvested a few weeks ago.

"A [$22,000 John Deere StarFire 6000] receiver was missing, fuel caps on two tractors had been removed and one was missing diesel, and dirt had been thrown in the transmission fluid opening of one of the tractors," Mr Sevil said.

"We're really lucky. They just threw a handful in the top and the filler has a bottleneck in it so I don't think too much of it actually got through.

"If we had run the tractor for a couple of hours, it would've caused major problems."

Mr Sevil will now have to pay to drain the oil and change the filter in case any debris entered the system.

To make matters worse, the offenders left human waste behind.

"They also defecated next to one of the tractors," he said.

The grower believes it was an opportunistic rather than targeted attack due to the behaviour of the offenders.

"It seems to be a little bit haphazard; [like they were] mucking around. I don't think it was a targeted attack," he said.

"I don't think they would've even necessarily realised the value of that receiver. I'm sure they could sell it if they worked pretty hard for it, but I'm not sure it's something that is readily sold."

It's the first time the family has had anything valuable stolen in recent times, however, Mr Sevil said neighbours have had fuel and motorbikes taken.

Also concerning was a suspicious fire lit earlier this year which came close to destroying their crops.

"Whether that's the same people or not, I don't know," Mr Sevil said.

"That came to within 50 metres of about $300,000 worth of cotton and it would've smoked the lot, no question. When it lights up, it's hard to stop it."

Mr Sevil has reported the theft to police, who took photos of tyre and shoe treads at the scene.

"To be honest, I'm not particularly optimistic they'll find anything," he said.

Mr Sevil now faces an expensive bill to install cameras to safeguard their property.

"Because they're solar, they require radios to get into the network, plus the cameras themselves, plus batteries. It'll cost me probably $1500 a camera," he said.

"I guess the issue is, it's reactive rather than proactive, but I think it'll be a little bit of peace of mind."

While the experience has put a dampener on things, Mr Sevil wants to remain positive.

"It's a blip on the radar. It's frustrating. It's annoying. It's going to cost us a bit of money to put in some security that's not necessarily going to fix the problem, but there's plenty of positives to look at."

Dirranbandi police have confirmed they are investigating several reports of incidents such as suspicious grass fires, stealing and trespass in the Thallon, Mungindi, Dirranbandi and St George areas in recent months.

Investigators from St George Criminal Investigation Branch and Rural Stock Squad have been engaged to lead some of these investigations.

Dirranbandi Police Station officer in charge, Sergeant Rohan McDonald, said most offences were committed by opportunistic criminals looking for unsuspecting and vulnerable properties to target.

"That CCTV camera you install could be the key to catching the thief and returning your property," Mr McDonald said.

"Rural communities like ours are tight knit, and support each other - by protecting yourself and providing information you could potentially be giving police the piece in the puzzle to make an arrest, before you or your neighbours can become victim to another crime."

Crime in rural communities is often property offence related, including thefts, break and enters or wilful damage.

Police encourage the community, including landholders and rural workers, to improve household and personal security through locks and installation of CCTV, ensure all property is clearly marked for easy identification, and immediately report crime and suspicious activity to police.

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