Oahu growers have been hit by thieves seeking pricey ornamental plants as well as pots, tools and other gear.
Over the weekend, thieves took more than $15,000 worth of farm equipment and a truck from a taro restoration project in the Heeia wetlands.
Mahealani Cypher, spokeswoman for the nonprofit organization Kako‘o ‘Oiwi, said yesterday that two chain saws, eight weed whackers, two water pumps, tools and a 20-by-20-foot tent were stolen sometime late Saturday night or early Sunday morning.
Last week, Glenn’s Flowers and Plants on Mokulama Street in Waimanalo lost 70 Raphis indoor palms valued at $14,000.
The nursery lost 37 plants that were growing in 3-gallon pots, nine palms in 5-gallon pots and 24 palms in 7-gallon pots. All of the plants were housed in a greenhouse.
In Kaneohe, workers arriving at the 400-acre site at 11 a.m. Sunday discovered the security gate off Kamehameha Highway was broken, Cypher said. The thieves also used blowtorches to open locked containers. A donated green Chevy pickup truck is also missing,