A very sophisticated crime ring or perhaps even several crime rings out of the Los Angeles area are stealing truckloads of California tree nuts, worth as much as $500,000, according to statements from the Agricultural Processors Association.
The Department of Transportation’s shipping database has been hacked by thieves, who obtain information from shipping and trucking companies’ Facebook pages so they can identify drivers, and they’re forging documents. This research makes them appear very legitimate when they come to pick up a load of almonds, pistachios, or walnuts.
Many times forged documents will include “burner” cell phone numbers. When a processor or shipper calls the number, they’re talking to one of the thieves posing as a legitimate driver, but by the time they realize the load has been stolen, that phone and number have been discarded without a trace.
In other instances, thieves pretend to be the nut processor and call the drivers who legitimately picked up loads. They tell the driver they discovered a problem with the load and ask him to drop it off at another facility for inspection. The driver does as he’s told, and three days later the company finds out the load never made it to its final destination.
In the rare instances where product has been found, it’s been in locations all across the country, and even in Eastern Europe. By then, it is too late to capture them.
Tree nut thefts have picked up in the last six months. Nuts have become very expensive, makng them a prime target. But a big part of the problem is that there’s little punishment for those responsible for committing crimes of this nature. In 2014, California passed Proposition 47, which classifies “non-serious, nonviolent crimes” as misdemeanors instead of felonies, as long as the defendant doesn’t have prior serious convictions.
Additionally, when an empty trailer is found in Los Angeles, the crime is considered to have taken place there. In Los Angeles, something like nut theft falls pretty low on the list of priorities when it comes to prosecuting criminals.
To make matter worse, insurance isn’t covering these thefts. Because the criminals are picking up the loads illegitimately but without any violence, it’s considered the processor’s negligence. Specific policies have to be purchased for this type of theft.
Although all California-grown tree nuts have been targeted, pistachios have taken the biggest hit. One truckload can be worth as much as $500,000. Even cashews imported to California and processed in the state have been stolen.