TWO suspects in a £40,000 jewellery burglary at an auction house are due in court next month after they were charged with the raid earlier this week.
City men Nicholas Dutfield, 52, of Happy Land West, Worcester and Alan Dale, 51, of Belmont Street, Worcester have been charged with the burglary at Merebrook Industrial Estate in Welland.
They appeared before magistrates in Kidderminster on Thursday. The case was deemed too serious for magistrates to deal with and was adjourned for a further hearing to take place at Worcester Crown Court on September 25.
In the meantime, both men have been remanded in custody.
The burglary, worth between £30,000 and £40,000, involved jewellery stolen from a cabinet at an auction house on the estate after entry was forced through a rear window.
A third suspect, arrested for conspiracy to burgle, has been bailed pending further enquiries.
READ MORE: City men charged over £40,000 Welland auction house burglary
READ MORE: Welland £30,000 jewellery burglary - three arrests
Investigations into the £40,000 jewellery burglary at the Merebrook auction house took a dramatic turn in the early hours of yesterday (Wednesday) with three arrests.
Three men were re-arrested in Worcestershire in connection with the raid on July 6 as enquiries into the burglary continue in earnest.
Members of the Neighbourhood Crime Fighting Team, recently established to tackle the crimes that matter most to the community, carried out the arrests.
Access to the property was gained by forced entry into a back window before the items were taken from a cabinet in the auction house.
No property has so far been recovered in connection with the burglaries but active investigations are underway to locate the stolen jewellery.
Items reported missing include watches, pocket watches, rings, bracelets, medals and coins.
West Mercia Police last month launched the first of its new Neighbourhood Crime Fighting Teams (NCFTs), with dedicated officers on the ground to tackle the crimes that are a priority to the public.
Funded by Police and Crime Commissioner John Campion delivering on calls for officers to be more visible and accessible in communities, the teams are 'fast-responding high visibility units who aim to tackle the offences with the highest causes of harm to the public, deploying a rapid serious crime response'.
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