Thieves have stolen a garlic grower’s entire crop — estimated to be worth up to $15,000 — just a week before harvest.
It is believed 300kg to 400kg of garlic was stolen straight out of the ground from the Cockatoo farm, north of Pakenham, overnight between Sunday, November 25 and Tuesday, November 27.
With little to go on, police are calling on the public to help with their investigation.
“There’s no CCTV, you can’t fingerprint dirt, so unfortunately police have no lines of inquiry unless credible information is forthcoming from the public,” Sergeant David Calkin from Emerald police said.
Sgt Calkin said 17 rows of the organic Italian garlic was due to be harvested last week.
The victim, Leah McLeod, took to Facebook to share news of her devastating loss.
“Late Sunday or Monday night, my entire garlic crop was stolen from the field,” Ms McLeod said.
She said the crop was valued from $10,000 to $15,000.
The thieves would most likely try to sell it to green grocers, restaurants or farmers’ markets, she said.
But she said: “Although this has been devastating and disheartening, I’m not giving up on my dream of becoming a successful farmer — I’ll be back with gusto and garlic next year.”
Source - https://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au
