Police Think They Cracked the Case of the Missing Almonds

Police have arrested two men on suspicion of possessing stolen property, saying they are the masterminds behind the theft of $2 million worth of almonds.
Tuesday, December 5, 2006
Christina Jewett - Sacramento Bee

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Police have arrested two men on suspicion of possessing stolen property, saying they are the masterminds behind the theft of $2 million worth of almonds throughout the Central Valley over the last year.

Detectives worked Sunday evening through Monday afternoon, dismantling what they described as a snack-food syndicate that had sprung up in a warehouse the suspects had rented.

Sukhwinder Singh Grewal, 41, and Amrik Singh, 27, are accused of hot-wiring tractor-trailers or hauling off containers filled with about 40,000 pounds of almonds processed and packaged to be shipped overseas. They loaded the nuts into rental trucks, deserting the stolen trucks and trailers in residential and industrial areas, detectives say.

The suspects were tripped up Sunday when a tipster who had read about the growing problem of nut thefts grew suspicious: He saw workers unload boxes from a variety of nut processors from a rental truck and called police to the warehouse Sunday afternoon.

"That was the break in the case we've been waiting for," Merced County Sheriff's Detective Vince Gallagher said. "At this point it's important to secure these nuts and get them returned to their rightful owners."

Hartley Spycher, a Merced County almond processor, watched Monday afternoon as workers moved 50-pound boxes of almonds out of a storage shed tied to the suspects' operation.

After seeing news reports about recent almond heists, Spycher installed security cameras and extra locks on his trailers.

The result: He got to play and replay surveillance tape of thieves stealing two trailers each containing 38,000 pounds of almonds on Nov. 6.

"It's pretty nice to get them back," Spycher said, watching as nuts spilled out of a box that a worker heaved into a truck.

Spycher said the nuts will likely be reprocessed and sold.

Grewal ran a legitimate business called Sona Spice Co., which imported cookies, teas and rice from India and shipped goods to mom-and-pop stores that serve the Indian community, Gallagher said.

Gallagher said detectives were lucky to discover the operation while 11 workers were moving the stolen almonds. Police think the workers were unwitting accomplices to Grewal and Singh.

District attorneys from the victims' home counties are likely to file additional grand theft and burglary charges, Stanislaus County sheriff's spokesman Royjindar Singh said.

California grows virtually all the almonds consumed in the United States.

http://www.wxeg.com/cc-common/news/section...article=1545767

Looks like with all of the lawlessness going on all over we will all have to learn how to purchase and install our own security tech.
I wonder if the Geek Squad at Best Buys if any good at this stuff?

Is this them?

Almonds? that's certainly...original...

why almonds?

^^^Do you think they'd risk getting caught for mere peanuts?

I'll try to answer that, since I've lived in the area all my life. Crooks look for fast money without a lot of hassle or potential to get caught. But why choose to steal nuts?? There is no way to track them. You can't put a low-jack on them or a gps chip in them. The theives could take those nuts, sell them anywhere & probably for less then they are worth. How many stands/cars have you seen along side the road selling produce? How do you know if the person selling them is legit? You can't...

To see it from the farmers view, think of the almonds as like the only paycheck you'll get for a whole year, cause to most who raise almonds that's exactly what it is. Sure, they may have other income, but the nuts are probably the bulk of the $$ for the year. Once the almonds are harvested & processed...cleaned, dried, seasoned/salted & ready to ship out...it would be a prime time to steal them. And you can see by the dollar amount noted 2 million, it's worth a lot of dinero! Believe it or not, there's a pretty big business in stealing from farms. In a short time, someone stealing from a farmer could completely wipe their business out. Farming IS NOT cheap, so if their harvest is lost there is no way to maintain equipment, buy seed & fuel, etc.


Almond blossoms :-)

.. now that's just ....... nuts!