A man will appear in Warrnambool court on Tuesday charged with theft of a Mercedes van

A 27-year-old man has been ordered to do unpaid community work after he "tagged along" to the theft of newspaper delivery van from a Hamilton freight service.

Troy Scott pleaded guilty in Warrnambool Magistrates Court on Tuesday to the theft of the van, theft from the van and obtaining property by deception - using a fuel card from the van to buy food at a service station.

The court heard the man and a 35-year-old co-accused attended a Hamilton freight service overnight on July 12 and forced entry by breaking a large padlock.

Once inside, they stole a white 2002 Mercedes delivery van containing a fuel card, car jack and tool box with numerous spanners and a battery starter pack.

The co-accused drove the van to Ararat with Scott in the passenger seat.

They attended a service station and used the stolen fuel card to purchase $61 of food.

The stolen van was found dumped on a rural dirt road in Yulecart, just west of the city, on Friday.

The van was worth about $6000.

A warrant was executed by CIU investigators and uniform police officers at an address in Hamilton at 10.30am Monday.

A quantity of stolen property was recovered, including the tools, a head unit from the van and a bag of assorted keys.

Scott was arrested and subsequently charged with the offending.

The 35-year-old co-accused was also arrested, interviewed and charged with theft of the van and theft from the van.

He was bailed to appear in the Hamilton Magistrates Court on November 2.

On Tuesday, Brown McComish lawyer Matt Pitkin told the court the co-accused was the principal offender.

He said Scott had a limited criminal history and was "ultimately tagging along" in the theft of the van.

Magistrate Nunzio La Rosa said breaking into a company garage and taking items was an offence that caused concern in small communities.

"It impacts on businesses who employ people like yourself," he said.

"And on people who are dependent on those items being there for them to earn a living for their families. It has an impact beyond just the company."

Scott was convicted and placed on a 12-month correction order.

Under that order he must do 100 hours of unpaid community work.

Monday: Two Hamilton men are currently in custody assisting police with their enquiries after a raid at a Hamilton address mid Monday morning.

Detective Sergeant Mark James, of the Hamilton police crime investigation unit, said a Mercedes delivery van was stolen on Tuesday night last week and recovered on Friday in Yulecart, just west of the city.

The van is worth about $6000.

A warrant was executed by CIU investigators and uniform police officers at a Michell Court address in Hamilton at 10.30am Monday.

"A quantity of property, believed to have been stolen, was recovered," Detective Sergeant James said.

"At that address a 27-year-old Hamilton man was arrested. Further enquiries led to the arrest of the 35-year-old man at another address in Michell Court."

The men have not yet been interviewed but it's expected they will be charged with offences and could be remanded in custody to appear in a court on Tuesday for bail/remand hearings.

"Currently they are assisting us with our enquiries, but they'll be interviewed and most likely charged," the detective said.

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