Heartless thieves steal 25,000 litres of drinking water from residents of a drought-stricken rural area
- Thieves stole 25,000 litres of drinking water from drought-stricken rural area
- Water tanker and Toyota Hilux ute stole water from Murwillumbah on Monday
- Police have been notified of the incident and are now investigating
Brazen thieves have stolen 25,000 litres of drinking water from a drought-stricken area in New South Wales’s far north-east.
A water tanker accompanied by a Toyota Hilux ute stole the water from a council depot on Airfield Avenue in Murwillumbah on Monday between 8pm and 9pm.
Tweed Shire Council notified police from the Tweed/Byron Police District, who have now launched an investigation.
Council General Manage Troy Green told ABC: ‘theft of a very large volume of drinking water is a criminal act and we will be seeking to prosecute the offenders.’
‘We will be asking every resident to save 50 litres of water every day, so we certainly will not tolerate any theft of this precious resource.’
CCTV footage captured the thieves taking the water, and the footage has been handed over to police.
Tweed/Byron Duty Officer and Detective Chief Inspector Luke Arthurs said stealing water when the area is in such a bad drought is ‘shocking’.
‘Police will continue to investigate this incident and are pleading with anyone with information to contact us,’ Chief Inspector Arthurs said.