Border Police officers seized 162 kg. of avocados suspected of having been stolen from agricultural fields near the community of Yesodot in central Israel on Tuesday, police said.
During an operation by Central District Border Police officers, the troops noticed a suspicious vehicle in one of the agricultural areas near Yesodot, located in the Nahal Sorek Regional Council.
After inspecting the vehicle, officers found a large quantity of avocados in the trunk that they suspected had been stolen. They also identified a suspect near the vehicle and detained him.
A representative of the community was called to the scene and determined that the avocados were of a variety grown in Yesodot's agricultural fields. After the produce was weighed, officers found that it totaled 162 kg.
Incident comes amid concerns from farmers about theft of produce
The suspect was arrested and transferred for further questioning. The vehicle and the produce were also seized.
The incident highlights ongoing concerns among farmers in the area over the theft of agricultural produce, particularly during periods when fields are full of crops ready to be harvested.
For farmers, such thefts mean not only the loss of produce, but also financial damage and the loss of the work invested in growing the crops throughout the season.