‘Avocado Cops’ Seek to Catch Fruit Rustlers
VENTURA — Authorities are on the prowl for avocado thieves, most of them narcotics users hauling the fruit away in shopping carts.
Ventura County Sheriff’s Dets. Mike Horne and Eric Nelson are known as the avocado cops. “We take it seriously. We’re dedicated to it. When a guy comes up to us and says, ‘I just lost half of my income,’ that’s serious,” said Horne.
In 1997, growers lost $609,000 to thieves taking away various kinds of crops, farm and irrigation equipment and chemicals. Horne and Nelson brought that down to $195,000 last year, the first year the team was on the job.
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