Police in New Zealand's Bay of Plenty have urged store owners to only buy avocados from legitimate sources, following nine reports of thefts from farms in the Western Bay of Plenty area since the start of May. 

In a release, the Bay of Plenty police said the thefts spanned from Tauranga to Katikati, and had left a huge impact on orchard owners.

Through their investigations, police discovered a lot of stall or store owners were turning a blind eye to the issue and on-selling stolen avocados.

For this reason, staff have recently been visiting fruit and vegetable stores to educate owners on the consequences of this issue.

“By purchasing and on-selling these stolen avocados, you are encouraging these thefts to continue. I urge you to ask the hard questions, if you don’t purchase from doubtful sources, these commercial thefts will stop," Sergeant Trevor Brown said in a release.

“Support orchardists, your fellow business owners, and don’t purchase these stolen fruit. If we work together, we can combat this issue," Brown said.

Avocado thieves can potentially be charged with burglary, which has a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment. If a shop owner knowingly has purchased stolen avocados, they could potentially be charged with receiving stolen property, which carries a maximum imprisonment of seven years.

At New Zealand's largest supermarket chain Countdown, avocados are currently selling at NZ$3.50 (US$2.62) each.

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