crime

1,400 melons stolen from farm in Ibaraki

24 Comments

About 1,400 melons have been stolen from a farm in Ibaraki Prefecture, police said.

On May 12, a grower in Ibaraki town reported the theft to police. The melons, which were ready to be picked, were valued at 700,000 yen, Fuji TV reported Saturday.

Police said the melons were stolen from a greenhouse sometime between the evening of May 9 and the evening of May 11. The greenhouse wasn't locked.

Police said a farm in neighboring Hokota City also reported the theft of 200 melons, worth 120,000 yen, on May 2.

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24 Comments
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would that be a melony?

6 ( +7 / -1 )

I wonder if they were insured.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

smithinjapan : So if you forget to lock your bike or car you really wouldn't care if someone else would take it?

Mind me, not locking the greenhouse is not smart, I fully agree, but does that entitle anyone to take it? Beside, ever seen a Japanese greenhouse? It's all plastic most of the time, so what's the use of a lock... you already need a knife to cut the melons, so you would figure the thieves would have that at hand anyway...

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Not to be melondramatic, this is obviously the work of a known waterfelon.

Apologies, in all seriousness....

Watermelon sells for over £2,000 in Japan....

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/10892093/Watermelon-sells-for-over-2000-in-Japan.html

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Yeah, this seems to happen quite a bit. Some melons fetch a pretty hefty price in season. It might be time for farmers to start thinking about branding their melons.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Few liters of sweet water (!)

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Some melons fetch a pretty hefty price in season.

Actually, they fetch an even heftier price off season. Look up the price of a greenhouse grown melon right now, and compare it to a pre-order of one during the summer. Big price difference.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Not a laughing matters. Farmers work hard, take lots of risk, and lots of debt, and often struggle to get by. 1400 from a small farmer could put him out of work.

This happens elsewhere, but it's sad to see it now happening in Japan.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

somebody really needed melons

0 ( +2 / -2 )

somebody needs locks

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Times are getting hard. . . . weren't a few Strawberries stolen too some time back? Weird.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

The phrase 'Melon farmers' was used a lot on the tv edit of Alex Cox's Repo Man.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Never cross JA, they will cut off your melons

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Watermelon sells for over £2,000 in Japan....

A few men suspected of passing on purloined cubic melons were arrested recently. It's still unclear if they have been able to square their accounts with the authorities.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

1,400 melons with a value of 700,000 yen? Provides some insight into just how high the markup is.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

You would expect the garden of Eden to be real and these melons grown there for the absurd markup value on them. But hey if people are ok to part with such cash and the farmers keep selling them then why not?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Melons ready now in Ibaraki sound like they must have been grown in greenhouses/polytunnels with at least a month of supplementary heat. I'm surprised they are worth so little out of season. Melon plants are very large, so enough for 1400 must cover quite some area.

It is also impressive to steal so many in a short time. You can't just chuck em on a flatbed truck because they'll be worthless.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

So if you forget to lock your bike or car you really wouldn't care if someone else would take it?

If my bike were stolen I'd be devastated, but I'd appreciate some quality dark humor all the same.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Thats a big bunch of melons.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I've never bought a melon, but ¥500 doesn't seem like such a high markup. The other farmer was gettin ¥600

I meant the retail markup (you cannot determine the farmers' markup from this article).

These 500 and 600 yen melons will probably be sold to the consumer for thrice that.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

1,400 melons with a value of 700,000 yen? Provides some insight into just how high the markup is. I've never bought a melon, but ¥500 doesn't seem like such a high markup. The other farmer was gettin ¥600

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

jpg_guy: "Can you imagine the heartache of growing and cultivating something with care only to have someone with no empathy or morals to come and steal it from you?"

Can you imagine not doing anything about security after it happened before and after having banked your entire life on the ridiculous cost of a few pieces of fruit? Pardon me, but 'taking care' of something, in my mind, includes watching over it so it is not stolen.

-2 ( +3 / -5 )

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