April 8, 2021
TZANEEN, SOUTH AFRICA (AFP) – Flashing green-and-white lights illuminated the night as the three private security vehicles rolled into the gated orchard, breaking the dark stillness enveloping the farm in northern South Africa.
Long shadows fell over the moonlit tracks as the pickup trucks rolled past hundreds of neatly-lined avocado trees, their branches laden with plump dark-green fruit almost ready for harvesting.
Patrol leader Marius Jacobs squinted over the steering wheel as he scanned the plantation for thieves.
Farmers around the quiet tropical town of Tzaneen are battling a scourge of avocado theft driven by booming global demand for the nutrient-rich fruit.
Is your avocado dirty? Organized gangs are stealing harvests in non-stop thefts Thieves invade property overnight, pick and pack the fruit onto a truck and drive away with easy money
Author of the article: Shari Kulha
Publishing date: Feb 22, 2021 • February 22, 2021 • 2 minute read • Stealing avocados is easy money for the unemployed, says the boss of a security company. Photo by Jose Castanares /AFP via Getty Images
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Article content
It’s called “green gold” because of its value on the international market. An avocado harvest is so valuable that now gangs of thieves are organizing to go marauding farms and orchards at night. “The thieving,” one farmer says, “has been non-stop.”