On May 21 alone, there were two consecutive incidents of vandalism against durian orchards in Cu Kuin and Krong Pak districts. The estimated damage was nearly 1 billion VND, and people were "restless"...

Mr. Luong Van Duc (born in 1983, residing in village 8, Ea Hu commune, Cu Kuin district) sadly shared that on the morning of May 21, his family discovered that the durian garden that was about to be harvested (nearly 1,100 durians weighing from 0.5-2kg) had been mercilessly chopped down by thieves.

"According to statistics, 54/100 durian trees planted for about 4-6 years by the family were destroyed, with estimated damage of nearly 400 million VND," Mr. Duc calculated.

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More than 1,000 durians of Mr. Duc's family were destroyed by thieves. Photo: Character provided

On the same day, Ms. Pham Thi Loi (born in 1968, residing in Hoa Tien commune, Krong Pak district) was shocked to discover that her family's durian garden in Ea Yong commune (Krong Pak district) had lost a lot of fruit, and the whole garden smelled strongly of herbicide.

According to Ms. Loi, 27/28 trees in the garden were contaminated with herbicide. The estimated damage is about 400 million VND, not to mention the damage to the future growth of the trees.

Mr. Tran Hoa (Mrs. Loi's husband) added that the incident happened a week ago, but up to now, durian fruits affected by the herbicide are still falling all over the garden. The family is trying to "save as much as possible", treating and removing any areas affected by the herbicide.

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Ms. Pham Thi Loi next to a durian tree suspected of being poisoned with herbicide. Photo: Provided by the character

“Our durian garden is well fenced. My family has no conflicts with our neighbors. I hope the authorities will soon clarify, find the subject, and deal with him severely,” said Mr. Hoa.

Sharing the same opinion, Mr. Duc also expressed his hope that the authorities would quickly find the culprit and deal with it strictly so that people can feel secure in their farming.

Both of the above cases have been received for investigation by the police of Cu Kuin and Krong Pak districts.

Install security cameras on the roads for monitoring

Speaking with VietNamNet reporter, Mr. Tran Hong Tien, Secretary of Krong Pak District Party Committee, said that after discovering 27 durian trees of a household suspected of being poisoned in Ea Yong commune, the District Party Committee directed the District Police to urgently investigate, but so far there have been no results.

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Mr. Duc's durians, which were about to be harvested, were destroyed. Photo: Character provided

According to Mr. Tien, there have been some cases of vandalism and theft of durian in the area before, but the consequences have not been serious. This incident is serious, affecting the psychology of durian farmers.

"In addition to investigating and strictly handling the vandals, the locality also directed security forces to coordinate with the commune government to regularly patrol and control deserted fields and areas with few people passing by to minimize the destruction of durian by people," said Mr. Tien.

Mr. Phan Duc Na, Secretary of Ea Hu Commune, said that such a large durian cutting incident has not occurred in the commune in many years. The police are currently investigating but have not yet discovered the perpetrator.

"The locality has a regular commune police force combined with village and hamlet security forces to patrol every night in remote durian plantations far from people's homes to promptly prevent thieves and vandals," said Mr. Na.

According to Mr. Na, in addition to nightly patrols and controls, the locality also has many security cameras on the roads for monitoring. This is a good monitoring tool to limit durian theft and vandalism, contributing to protecting people's property and ensuring security and order in the area.

Police in Dak Lak are investigating two durian gardens worth hundreds of millions of dong that were poisoned with herbicides and had their fruits cut off.