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Approximately 1,000 apples were stolen earlier this week from an orchard in Hirosaki City, Aomori Prefecture, shortly after they were picked.
According to police, at around 4:30 p.m. on Oct 24, the owner of the orchard reported that 1,000 Fuji apples awaiting their scheduled shipment had been stolen, Fuji TV reported. The stolen apples are worth about 40,000 yen.
The orchard owner was quoted by local media as saying, "The thief not only stole the apples from my tractor, but also picked other fruit off the trees. It's so heart-breaking. I’m in total shock.”
Police believe the thief or thieves carried out the crime over the course of four days from Oct 21 to 24, when the fruit was left unattended.
© Japan Today
12 Comments
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Yubaru
To go along with something like 200 kilos of salmon roe, seems to me like there is a serial food thief on the loose in northern Japan!
quercetum
The ones remaining on the trees are vulnerable as apple farmers are busy this time of the year in marketing and shipping their apples. The remaining ones still need sunlight, less available in mid autumn.
This reminds me of the thieves who gut the salmon and take the salmon roe and harvesting others’ fruits of labor.
Maria
In the grand scheme of things, 40,000 isn't that much. The thieves would have been better off breaking into someone's house and taking stuff to sell.
All that owner's hard work - planting, growing, caring, picking - for nowt. How horrid.
garymalmgren
This happens every year, with cherries, peaches and nashi.
Simple, Get a dog!
That's what my friend did.
theFu
Are they certain it wasn't 999?
Wakarimasen
Are these "high end" apples that sell for 100,000 each?
mph1212
Wouldn't be surprised if the thief knows this farmer.
drlucifer
40yen per apple and by the time it is put on the supermarket shelf it
is 158yen that is four times what the farmer got. The farmer and the end consumer are
the victim in thedistribution chain and some people are making a fortune without breaking a sweat. farmers will be better off selling directly to consumers
Suzanne Starr
While I agree with most of your statement, the other purpose of having a dog is to "scare" the thieves away by barking madly like livestock herders.
A well trained dog will watch the fields and come back for food/attention at appropriate times. Multiple dogs in turn can cure day/night thieves.
oyatoi
Why didn’t the owner of the property have surveillance cameras installed , or at least prominent warning signs about the presence of cameras.
Drlucifer’s comment too about the huge discrepancy between the farmers cut and the final selling price of an apple is spot on. You’ll be glad to know that there are a number of farmers doing just what you suggest.