Massive avocado heist thwarted by police outside Haifa

Israel Border Police this week thwarted what would have been one of the greatest produce-related crimes in the country’s history.

Security forces were alerted to the heist after security guards patrolling avocado groves near the northern city of Haifa saw two unfamiliar vehicles fleeing the area.

They set up road blocks and carried out searches of vehicles matching the description of the cars.

Apparently deterred by the ramped up security, the thieves abandoned the vehicles at a local gas station.

Police later uncovered five tons of avocados packed into the two cars.

The stolen produce, valued in the tens of thousands of shekels, was returned to the growers.

One suspect was arrested near the gas station in connection to the robbery.

The suspect, said to be a 20-year-old resident of Akko, was remanded into custody until a hearing at the Hadera Magistrate’s Court next week.