According to the Chico Enterprise Record, an organized thief managed to steal $91,000 in walnuts from a Glenn county, California.
Last week, a driver picked up a load of walnuts from Carriere Family Farms. The load was set to deliver in Canada but the load never reached its destination.
The Chico Enterprise Record reported that the driver arrived with a purchase order for the load. Staff at Carriere Family Farms photographed the truck, checked the driver’s CDL, wrote down his license plate, truck and trailer numbers, and even took the driver’s thumb print.
If this crime sounds familiar, it’s because two similar walnut thefts have occurred over the last year. Two loads of walnuts, valued at $300,000, were stolen in Northern California last year.
Authorities said a man with a “thick Russian accent ” picked up two loads of walnuts in Northern California and never delivered the loads to Texas and Florida.
Investigators believe the thieves likely forged their information and used fraudulent DOT numbers.
