9:10 am, January 17, 2021
Police are appealing for witnesses after three cars were stolen from a Volkswagen dealer in Scotland.
The cars had a combined value of £60,000 and were taken when three suspects broke into the dealership and stole the keys in what police are calling a ‘daring raid’.
In the early hours of January 14, a black Volkswagen T-Roc (SY69WCR), a grey Volkswagen Golf (SX17BAA) and a red Audi A3 (SW66DZY), were stolen from the forecourt of Hawco Garage, The Wards, Elgin.
Hawco is a family-run Volkswagen dealer with two other sites in Inverness and Peterhead.
Around 12.30am, the office was broken into and keys were taken and used to steal the vehicles from the forecourt.
The vehicles were then driven north on the A96, heading towards Nairn.
Detective sergeant John Pirie of North East CID said: ‘This was quite a daring raid on the garage.
‘Whether these cars were specifically targeted or not has still to be established, however, I have no doubt that those responsible were looking for high value vehicles.
‘Although this happened in the early hours of the morning, the garage is in quite a busy area, near to a retail park and residential properties.
‘Officers have been carrying out local enquiries, checking CCTV and have been speaking to local residents of homes overlooking the garage but would also appeal to anyone who was in the area at the time to get in touch.’
He said that police are keen to hear from delivery drivers or taxis that were working in the area or cars that were driving at that time.
The force has asked that they check any dash-cam footage they may have from the street from around the time of the crime or prior to the theft occurring.
Pirie added: ‘The cars were driven off from the garage onto the A96 north towards Nairn, so again, I would ask drivers to have a look at their dash-cam if they were on the road around 12.45am this morning.’
If you have any information you can contact officers in Elgin Police Station via 101 quoting reference number 0690 of 14 January, 2021. Alternatively, details can be given anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Hawco released its full-year results for 2019 in October and in the statement revealed that it lost £726,000 due to lockdown.
However, the dealer group said it remained positive and that as of Q4 2020 it expected to be back to breakeven.
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