More than a ton of watermelons were stolen last week from a northern Israeli ranch near Ein HaMifratz. Two suspects allegedly entered the field, picked the produce, and loaded it into a vehicle. At the same time, a herd of about 300 sheep brought to the area also entered the ranch and damaged crops. The two suspects were arrested at the scene, and indictments were filed against them Tuesday morning.
1+The incident began after the farmer reported to police that suspects had entered his land and damaged his crops. Officers who arrived in the area conducted surveillance of the field and spotted the two suspects picking watermelons and loading them into a vehicle.
The pair were arrested on the spot, and a large quantity of watermelons was found in the vehicle they were using. A subsequent weighing revealed that the watermelons taken from the field weighed 1,014.5 kilograms.
1+An identity check of the suspects revealed that one of them is a ‘Palestinian’ staying in Israel without a permit. The second suspect is accused of employing and transporting him, as well as trespassing on the farmland, damaging crops, and stealing the produce.
According to an initial assessment, the damage to the farmland is estimated at thousands of shekels. In addition, the owner of the sheep herd was issued an administrative fine of 150,000 shekels for the sheep’s trespass onto the land, and the vehicle allegedly used to commit the offenses was seized. Following the investigation, indictments were filed this morning against the two suspects for the offenses attributed to them.