More than 30 lorries were damaged in one day while parked up at service stations in Staffordshire last month.
Police said 36 HGVs had their curtains slashed and their contents searched by unknown offenders. Hilton northbound services saw 19 lorries targeted, while Stafford northbound services saw 10 lorries damaged, with four at Keele northbound and three at Keele southbound, all on 23 February.
During one of the incidents, two bottles of red wine were reported stolen from a white Volvo.
Officers are carrying out enquiries in relation to the incidents as part of Operation Yard, aimed at deterring criminal gangs from targeting lorries by ensuring a police presence in hot-spot areas. Staffordshire police said it was also working with drivers, hauliers and service stations to share crime prevention advice.
Chief inspector Rachel Joyce, lead for freight crime, said: “We would like to encourage HGV drivers to engage with us so we can support them to be safe and secure when they are residing in and travelling around the region. Though not a great deal was stolen on these occasions, offenders caused significant damage to the lorries, which will of course have an impact on livelihoods and businesses.
“Officers will continue to patrol these areas in the coming days to do what they can to protect HGV drivers from the impact of theft and attempted theft.”
