A STASH of stolen property worth more than half a million pounds including cars, wine and precious metal has been recovered by Wiltshire Police following a raid near Cricklade.

A team of more 25 officers including support from the Police dog section searched the Bournelake Residential site near Cricklade on Wednesday November 12 and recovered the stolen equipment including 56 transformers believed to have been stolen during a burglary in Calne on Sunday November 9.

A significant amount of cash was seized as well as a mini digger, 14 vehicles including lorries and cars, over 250 cases of Prosecco, 67 cases of white wine and a large number of industrial tools.

A catalytic converter processing unit was also uncovered, in which stolen parts were stripped for precious metals and sold on.

The total value of items seized that were stolen or used in crime is estimated at over £500,000 but police believe there is potential for this figure to rise significantly.

HM Revenue and Customs officers also seized around 3,000 litres of suspected illicit fuel from the site, along with a quantity of fuel storage containers.

HMRC officers discovered nine vehicles running on rebated fuel, all of which were seized in relation to Police or Customs offences.

Detectives are continuing to work with surrounding forces, HMRC and other agencies as part of this investigation.

A 32 year old local woman has been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to burgle and was subsequently released on police bail pending further enquiries.

Andrew Burgoyne, Senior Officer, South West Road Fuel Testing Unit, HMRC, said: “The success of multi-agency working is crucial to tackling fuel fraud. Anyone with information about the use, production, storage or sale of illicit fuel should contact the Customs Hotline on 0800 59 5000.”