Men Who Stole $300,000 Worth Of Avocados Busted In A Big Time Guacamole Sting

NY Post - Police are calling it grand theft avocado.

Three produce company workers have been arrested in the theft of up to $300,000 worth of avocados, according to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office.

Thirty-eight-year-old Joseph Valenzuela, 28-year-old Carlos Chavez and 30-year-old Rahim Leblanc were each charged with grand theft of fruit and were being held in jail on bail of $250,000 each. They were arrested Wednesday.

Detectives began investigating the suspects in May after receiving a tip that they were conducting unauthorized cash sales of avocados from a ripening facility in the city of Oxnard owned by the Mission Produce company.

The company estimated the avocado loss at about $300,000, the sheriff’s office said.

“We take these kinds of thefts seriously. It’s a big product here and in California,” sheriff’s Sgt. John Franchi told the Los Angeles Times. “Everybody loves avocados.”

I don’t know what in the world is going on with avocados these days. Seems like every time I turn around, the avocados are in the news for a new reason. This is some sort of new phenomenon, because growing up, I feel like I never saw or heard anything about them. In college chicks started talking a little bit about avocados, but they weren’t a full out phenomenon until the last 5 years or so. Now you can’t go anywhere without tripping over one. And they are fucking expensive too. The ‘cado lobby is STRONG.

Look left and it’s being slathered on toast and sold for $18 at brunch and bringing down the entire housing market along the way.

Look right and people are using them like grenades in Golden Eye.

Shit, even parents are using them to teach kids how to be appreciative of the finer things in life.

And now we have 3 guys selling them on the blackmarket. $300,000 worth! I don’t really hate the move, especially in Cali where cados are basically meth. These guys are the Heisenbergs of the Cali Cado trade. People NEED their guacamole around the clock or they go into convulsions. So if you can get your hands on the product and move them for cash, you gotta take that opportunity, just unfortunate they got caught. Now they’re in jail basically for selling fruit. Tough look.