A New Zealand man claims he will suffer financial difficulty now that he has lost $100,000 worth of avocados, as thieves cleaned out 70 percent of his orchard. Graeme Burgess, from Kaikohe on the North Island, said that his property of about 550 trees was raided over a period of three weeks.
The 75-year-old said the theft was also pointless as the fruit is months away from harvesting: “It's ridiculous. The fruit is far from being ready and won't even ripen or get anywhere close to being able to be eaten.”
Burgess is now worried about his finances as the orchard, which he moved to after selling his Auckland office supply business, is his sole income. The financial strain is amplified by the fact he is a father to three children - the youngest being nine years old.
According to dailymail.co.uk, police visited the orchard on July 5. However, due to the nature of the crime and lack of CCTV, they were unable to link any offenders to the theft. Since this, Burgess decided to introduce security cameras onto the property to hopefully catch the thieves. But Burgess knows the 20-year-old trees provide plenty of shelter for the thieves to access various sections of the orchard.
