Stolen milk truck debacle angers dairy company owner

Sungold Geelong and Surf Coast owner Matt Nolan’s refrigerated van was stolen during a routine delivery to the Queen of the West hotel on Pakington St. at around 3.30am on July 9.

The truck was located later that day, but Mr Nolan said it was not until last Friday that the vehicle was operational again.

“It was found the night after the theft,” Nolan said.

“They think the boys went through there looking for a tracker, but they didn’t find one, so they left with some random stuff from the truck.”

According to Mr Nolan, the truck was found by police on the other side of town and had been mistreated.

“They drove it like they stole it,” he said.

“They turned it around, cut the corner and smashed the body.

“We just did a little bit of a tune-up, went through the mechanics and had a good look at everything, and it seems to be going well.”

The theft was a costly affair for Mr. Nolan and his company. Insurance did not cover the cost of the replacement rental vehicle they had to use to get the truck back on the road.

“It was about $700 a week,” Mr. Nolan said.

“The insurance only covers an amount of up to approximately four and a half tons for replacement vehicles.”

According to MR Nolan, the vehicle thefts are still at large.

“They took fingerprints but couldn’t get anything out of them,” he said.

“Last I heard, they were going to try to go through some security footage from around Pako, but I don’t know if that actually helped them or if they went too hard on it.”

“It’s all a bit of a hassle”

Victoria Police were approached for comment.

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