Ventura County sheriff arrested three Californian men on suspicion of grand theft of fruits following the disappearance of $300k-worth of avocados.
The three produce workers have been identified as Joseph Valenzuela (38), Carlos Chavez (28), and Rahim Leblanc (30).
They were arrested after search warrants were subserved at the place they were working, including their homes.
They were being detained in jail on bail of $250k each.
It is not yet sure whether the three have lawyers.
The police said they started investigating in May following the reports of possible illegal cash sale of avocados from the facility they are working. The fruits are sent there to become ripe.
“Everybody loves avocados. We take these kinds of thefts seriously,” Ventura County Sergeant said.
“It’s a big product here and in California.”
They believe the three have been doing it to naive buyers for a few months already.
They have been working at Mission Produce in Oxnard, just a few miles from Los Angeles.
Steve Barnard, the company’s president, said some boxes and pallets of avocados were stolen and put up for sale from the back door of the distribution center.
Customers noticed that something was wrong and tipped the company off.
The company’s accountants spotted that their numbers weren’t adding up and their records were coming up low. Security video validated their doubts.
The company is among the biggest avocado distributors in the world, which have already expanded in Canada, China, the United States, and Netherlands. In 2015, the city was able to export avocados worth $25 million.
