KEY POINTS:
Three Rotorua residents have been arrested over the theft of a Waikato mobile dental clinic.
The 9m-long, 2m-wide clinic, worth a total of $330,000, which was found parked at Netherton Primary School near Paeroa yesterday, after being stolen on Saturday, had been stripped of $180,000 of equipment.
Waikato
District Health Board communications director Mary Anne Gill said it was found on a Rotorua property minus its equipment, including a steriliser and chairs.
It would be out of action for months while it was refitted.
Hundreds of dental records were also incinerated at a State Highway 5 lay area north of Ngongotaha.
Ms Gill was "surprised" the clinic had moved so far as it was equipped with a special braking system that meant it was usually towed by a truck. The clinic was last seen being towed away by a silver or light blue Ford Falcon car.
- NZPA, NZ HERALD STAFF