Police are probing the theft of six Nissan forklifts. PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK

A New Jersey criminal investigative unit is probing the theft of six Nissan forklift trucks from an Upper Deerfield distribution warehouse of Clement Pappas & Co Inc.

Detective Robert Gates with the state police says the warehouse was closed at the time of the theft for dock maintenance.

According to Gates, four of the units are internal-combustion cushion-tyre Platinum II Series forklifts with a capacity of 6,000 or 7,000 pounds (2,700 or 3,150 kg). The others are in the same series, one with a capacity of 5,000 pounds (2,250 kg) and the sixth with a short wheelbase and an unspecified capacity.

The theft was reported on 29 November when post-Thanksgiving holiday operations resumed. "People knew (the warehouse) was shut down," Gates notes.

Sheers may have been used to cut a hole of approximately 9 sqft (0.8 sqm) near a handle, making it easy to unlatch the inside lock and open the door, according to Gates.

The unexplained presence of a trailer near the dock raised questions but was not challenged in a timely manner. Police believe the trailer was stolen from a Mount Laurel, New Jersey rental agency on 18 November. It was noticed on the Clement Pappas property and may have been used to cart away the forklifts, worth about USD200,000.

Carneys Point, New Jersey-based Clement Pappas employs more than 750 staff at four US facilities, distributes customer-branded products and processes and bottles fruit juices and drinks and cranberry sauces.

Anyone with information about the theft of the forklifts may contact Gates at 1-856-451-0106, the detectives' line at the Bridgeton station of the state police.