Nut Talk

That's Nuts! Crooks Steal Mounds of Almonds

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) - Authorities in California have recovered 44,000 pounds of stolen almonds, after the suspected thieves tried to sell the processed nuts on the black market.

The Fresno County Agriculture Crime Unit says thieves drove a truck full of Campos Brothers Farm almonds off the lot of a trucking company,
where the almonds were sent for distribution earlier this month.

Officials found the truck in a nearby Fresno County city, but it had been emptied of the nuts, valued at an estimated $135,000. But last week an almond broker called authorities when he suspected someone was trying to sell him illegal nuts.

A spokeswoman for the farm says "We're very
cooperative, even though we're competitors. We talk." Fresno County officials found the almonds in a San Leandro warehouse. Their unique packaging helped officials track them down, and
authorities have two "persons of interest" in the case.