Four men and a woman have appeared in court in connection with a lorry heist at an Aberdeen haulage yard.
Two articulated trucks were stolen from the outskirts of Aberdeen and driven nearly 40 miles and then set ablaze at the weekend.
The lorries, which contained furniture and alcohol, were emptied before being set on fire.
The burning lorries were discovered in a lay-by on the A97 road near Gartly early on Monday, having been taken from M&H Logistics at West Tullos industrial estate.
Yesterday Jordan Fenwick, 21; Guy Bandeen, 23; Jill Reid, 40; Alexander Henderson, 24; John Stewart, 22; and Scott Morrison, 31, all appeared in private at the city’s sheriff court in connection with the incident.
Fenwick, of Aberdeen, and Bandeen, of Elgin, are both alleged to have been in possession of stolen goods as well as committing theft by opening a lock fast place.
Fenwick is further charged with being in possession of controlled drugs.
Henderson and Stewart, both of Falkirk, along with Reid, of Elgin, and Morrison, of Aberdeen, are all accused of being in possession of stolen goods.
They made no plea and were released on bail by Sheriff Alison Stirling. They are expected to return to court in a week.
Last night a spokeswoman for the Crown Office said they had also received a report in relation to a 28-year-old man in connection with the incident.
She said: “The accused was liberated from custody and did not appear in court. The case against him remains live and under consideration.”
Emergency services were called when the lorries were discovered on fire at about 4.30am on Monday.
Sixteen firefighters took around 90 minutes to bring the blaze under control.
A police spokeswoman said officers had launched a joint investigation with the fire brigade to establish what was used to set the trucks alight.
Last night police officers investigating the case said they were still keen to speak to anyone who may have information.
In particular, they are looking to trace anyone who may have information about a burnt out silver Renault Megan which was found in the Hazlehead area on Monday afternoon.
