10 year jail term for avocado thieves

People are stealing avocados and selling them on Facebook.

Avocado thieves could potentially face 10 years in jail if caught stealing the green fruit.

This is the latest warning from police following a number of instances where avocados have been stolen and then sold on Facebook.

If an individual or shop owner has knowingly purchased stolen avocados, they could potentially be charged with receiving stolen property, which carries a maximum imprisonment of seven years, says Senior Sergeant David Sutherland.

'If you have an avocado orchard or live near one please keep a look out for any suspicious activity and if you see anything, report it to police immediately.

'Also when you are buying avocados, whether you are an individual or shop owner make sure you are buying them from a reputable source,” says David.

"As a community, it's important to work together to minimise risk to local businesses and to livelihoods.

'Report anything that's out of place or appears suspicious.”

People can report information anonymously via the Crimestoppers 0800 555 111 line.

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10 comments

Yes BUT

Posted on 22-08-2017 08:54 | By Papamoaner

Keeping an inmate is now cost prohibitive for our small population. There has to be another way that WORKS. All we need do is copy the law enforcement and corrections policies of Singapore - the safest country in the world to visit. The late Mr Lee Kuan Yew's policies were so effective that they had to cancel two prison construction projects DUE TO A SHORTAGE OF INMATES! All that's required here is politicians with guts. A by-product - we would save Megabucks.


Pull the other one

Posted on 22-08-2017 10:09 | By maildrop

10 years!? Maybe if they killed the orchard owner in the process.


@Maildrop

Posted on 22-08-2017 10:48 | By Papamoaner

I suspect you have inadvertently posted a comment on the wrong thread.


Anyway

Posted on 22-08-2017 11:02 | By Papamoaner

All that aside, police are merely alluding to legislation where 10 years is a reference to an existing maximum penalty. They don't have any discretionary powers in that respect - that is the function of the courts.The courts could potentially apply the maximum penalty in cases where a grower's livelihood has been seriously impaired with ongoing impacts. Fair enough too!


Inmate #1 asks.....

Posted on 22-08-2017 13:35 | By GreertonBoy

....Murder, rape, assault, making drugs, stealing cars? Inmate #2 "I'm in for G.T.A.!"..... Inmate # 1 " So, Grand theft Auto?" Inmate #2 "No stupid, Grand Theft Avocado" LOL .... Lucky when I was a kid it wasn't a crime to knock off Fijoas... there was a place in Pooles road with the most awesome tree.... Mmmmmm nostalgia! Back to Avocados tho... shouldn't the punishment at least sort of fit the crime? We are so used to criminals committing real crimes and getting a smack on the hand for it... it would be nice to see Avocado rings busted and get a kick up the pants... and have REAL criminals off the street and in custody? Just thinking out loud?


Morepork

Posted on 22-08-2017 14:27 | By maildrop

Don't think so. Maybe with all your logins, fake stories and endless commentary you're going a bit senile? Maybe Sunlive's advertisers pay per number of comments and you exist to crank it up and take everyone for a ride? I wonder if they realise?


@GreertonBoy

Posted on 23-08-2017 13:31 | By Papamoaner

Yes, it's only avocado, but to fall into that simplistic trap is to overlook the fact that these thefts on this scale are depriving growers of their livelihood, involving entire families. I guess a reasonable analogy might be to compare the severe penalties meted out to paua poachers. Yes, each offence is only a few pauas, but it's the entire resource that eventually gets threatened. I think the colloquialism is "the big picture"


Thieving millionare.

Posted on 23-08-2017 16:58 | By Antidoctor

I had two 45 year old advocado trees stolen by a neighbour.His daughters,who go to a religious school,kept watch and his wife asked him to do it.


Reality check

Posted on 24-08-2017 08:38 | By CathyH

I am very pleased to see the police now taking avocado theft seriously. Working in the industry, I see the after of effects of these thefts with can be devastating for growers. The avocados do not just appear and grow to a perfect avocado without a lot of hard work and expense. I have heard of growers committing suicide or having to get an extra job to pay the bills because thieves have stolen thousands of dollars of fruit, and think that's it's their right to do so. Thank you NZ Police.


@Antidoctor

Posted on 24-08-2017 14:56 | By Papamoaner

You didn't tell us the result. I hope they were prosecuted


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