Avocado ‘bandits’ bagged
Police are calling it grand theft avocado.
Three California producecompany workers have been busted in the theft of up to $300,000 worth of avocados, according to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office.
Joseph Valenzuela, 38, Carlos Chavez, 28, and Rahim Leblanc, 30, were each charged with grand theft of fruit and were being held in jail on bail of $250,000 each. They were arrested Wednesday.
It was unclear whether they have attorneys.
Detectives began investigating the suspects in May after receiving a tip that they were conducting unauthorized cash sales of avocados from a ripening facility in the city of Oxnard owned by the Mission Produce Co.
The company estimated the avocado loss at about $300,000, according to the sheriff ’s office.
“We take these kinds of thefts seriously. It’s a big product here and in California,” sheriff ’s Sgt. John Franchi told the Los Angeles Times. “Everybody loves avocados.”