A farm manager in Papaikou said fruit thieves have become more brazen because of the generally low risk that comes with agricultural crimes.

In late June, Sunshine Farms, also known as Hawaii Sunshine Orchards, had about $260 worth of mangosteen stolen. Two suspects were arrested on suspicion of the crime and have been charged with second-degree theft, and one of the suspects also has been charged for possession of methamphetamine.

It’s the latest case of agricultural theft that’s become worse on the farm.

“Before, we would have two or three people jumping the fence. Now it’s like 10-12,” said Wendy Akau, office manager for the farm. “It’s like a group of guys that come all times of the day — day, night with their headlights on — and they just come in and take as much fruit as they can.”

She said that in the past three months, thieves have cut down about 10 trees for easier access to fruit. Theft, which is reportedly often drug-motivated, has become a full-time job for some, Akau said. Most don’t get caught or punished, but when they do it’s not always an effective deterrent from repeat offenses.

“One guy was arrested. We got the pounds, how much he took, and then what they actually had him do was pay restitution … for the fruit that was recovered, and that was it,” Akau said. “He didn’t get probation or anything else; he just had to pay the amount that the fruit cost. It’s like a slap on the wrist.”

Akau said she saw that particular offender on the farm again afterward.

Agricultural crimes are a chronic and statewide problem. In a special report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2020, about $14.4 million was lost or spent by Hawaii in 2018 because of agricultural crimes and security costs to prevent them.

Suspects are difficult to identify because they often come in at night and in rural areas where there aren’t many witnesses or surveillance cameras.

“What gets reported to us, a lot of times, is damaged trees, missing produce,” said Community Police Officer Christopher Fukumoto, from the Hawaii Police Department. “That’s pretty much it, so there’s not a whole lot for us to investigate. … There’s no other witnesses to talk to, no surveillance footage to review.”

HPD reported six agricultural theft cases on Hawaii island since the beginning of June. Suspects were arrested and charged in two of those cases, one of which is the mangosteen theft on Sunshine Farms. A suspect has been identified in another one of those cases.

The fruit is being stolen because it’s in high demand at places like farmers markets, Hawaii County Prosecuting Attorney Kelden Waltjen said.

“There are vendors at the farmers markets who are, unfortunately, due to demand, buying this stolen produce at a cheaper price from these thieves,” he said. “Those people who are buying stolen produce, they’re encouraging these people to continue to commit these thefts.”

Akau said a phone found at Sunshine Farms by a police officer showed that thieves were filling orders requested by buyers.

State law states that agricultural commodities weighing more than 200 pounds or with a value of more than $100 require an ownership and movement certificate, which is meant to show the origin of fruit and vegetables and discourage theft, but not all buyers check those certificates.

Waltjen said he’s trying to work with state lawmakers to change the numbers associated with the certificate, which can be cumbersome in practice when farmers, market vendors and produce sellers are lawfully doing business and trying to do quick transactions.

“They attach that ($100) value to it, which I think can be difficult to determine, and then there’s also poundage, so now you’re talking about getting a scale, weighing items,” Waltjen said.

He added that the state Legislature can help farmers by providing them with financial assistance so they afford the costs of security; increase penalties for agricultural crimes; and provide funding to police departments to better respond or prevent the crimes from taking place in the first place.