(Dan Tri) - For many weeks now, households in Gia Lai province have been continuously targeted by thieves who sneak into their gardens to steal coffee berries. Not only that, the thieves also break branches and cut down trees, causing great damage to farmers.
Coffee prices are rising at record highs compared to many years ago. The peak price of coffee beans reached 134,000 VND/kg. However, farmers have not yet had time to celebrate the high prices before they have had to "lose sleep and appetite" because of coffee theft and sabotage occurring in many localities.
The family of Mr. Dang Van Dung (Linh Nham village, Dak Djrang commune, Mang Yang district, Gia Lai province) and neighboring households had dozens of coffee trees about to be harvested stolen by thieves.
Dozens of coffee trees belonging to Mr. Dang Van Dung's family had all their fruit stolen by thieves (Photo: Chi Anh).
According to Mr. Dung, on the morning of November 14, his family went into the garden and discovered that about 50 coffee trees had been stolen, both ripe and green. Not only did the thieves steal the fruit, they also broke branches and chopped down the trees.
"After counting, 20 coffee trees had their fruits picked and branches broken by thieves, and 30 trees had their fruits picked clean. It is estimated that each tree lost about 25-30kg of fresh fruit. Trees with chopped branches will take several years to recover. The family hopes that the authorities will step in to arrest the thieves who stole and destroyed people's coffee," said Mr. Dung.
Many coffee branches were broken off by thieves and left in the garden (Photo: Chi Anh).
Ms. Vu Thi Mai's family has a garden in Dak Jrang commune, Mang Yang district, where thieves also broke in to steal coffee fruits and cut branches at dawn on November 14.
Ms. Mai said: "I visited the plantation and discovered that thieves had stolen about 10 coffee trees. Each tree weighs about 30kg at this time, but the fruit is still green so the family has not been able to harvest it yet. I hope the police will soon investigate and find the culprit to strictly handle and deter them."
According to Ms. Mai, thieves often choose trees with lots of fruit to steal. After the theft, the family hired two people to patrol around the 2 hectares of coffee day and night. The family members also "lost their appetite and sleep" taking turns guarding, waiting for the coffee to ripen for harvest.
Mrs. Vu Thi Mai's family also had their coffee stolen and branches broken by thieves (Photo: Chi Anh).
In October and November, the coffee garden of Ms. Vu Thi Xuan's family (De Ron village, Dak Djrang commune) was also robbed and 23 coffee trees were destroyed.
Mr. Huynh Huu Quy's family (Yen The ward, Pleiku city, Gia Lai) had nearly 40 coffee trees stolen by thieves, with a total loss of about 300kg of coffee.
Ms. Dinh Thi Kim Anh (Ia Dom commune, Duc Co district) has more than 40 coffee trees stolen.
The coffee harvest has just begun, but coffee theft and vandalism have occurred in many districts in Gia Lai province, making people extremely worried and insecure.
Mr. Ho Ngoc Thang, Acting Chairman of Dak Djrang Commune People's Committee, shared: "The situation of coffee theft and destruction is alarming. In just the past 10 days, the commune has received 3 cases of people reporting coffee theft and destruction. The police force is coordinating to investigate and track down the criminals who committed the theft."
According to Mr. Thang, since the beginning of the coffee harvest, the commune has directed departments and organizations to propagate to the people to raise their vigilance to prevent theft. At the same time, the commune also coordinated to capture people entering and leaving the area, and increased patrols with the commune police at night.
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/lao-dong-viec-lam/nguoi-dan-buc-xuc-vi-ke-gian-lien-tuc-trom-qua-chat-pha-cay-ca-phe-20241120143237514.htm
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