NEW ZEALAND - News surrounding avocados is predominantly happy. Unfortunately, this time around, the report from the Daily Mail is a somber one. A New Zealand man recently lost $100,000 worth of avocados when thieves robbed 70 percent of his orchard. The property, which has about 550 trees, was raided over a period of three weeks.
The 75-year-old farmer said the theft was pointless due to the fact that the fruit was months away from harvesting, the Northern Advocate reported.
"It's ridiculous. The fruit is far from being ready and won't even ripen or get anywhere close to being able to be eaten," he said.
It is believed that the stolen avocados were taken to Auckland where they would be sold, but authorities are still unsure. Police issued a statement that, due to the nature of the crime and lack of CCTV, they were unable to link any offenders to the theft.
"We provided the victim with some prevention advice to help protect his avocado trees," an officer said.
Since this theft, the farmer has decided to install security cameras on the property to hopefully catch the thieves. He also mentioned that the 20-year-old trees provide plenty of shelter for anyone looking to access various sections of the orchard.
Will the produce industry continue to see thefts of this nature? AndNowUKnow will continue to report.
