Criminality - Prosecutor drops investigation into leek theft
The public prosecutor's office in Heilbronn has launched investigations against three men on suspicion of garlic theft. The men are alleged to have picked nearly 2.5 tons of garlic in Kupferzell (Hohenlohekreis) in March. The suspects had reportedly believed that the company they worked for had a harvest permit for the area, as a spokesperson for the public prosecutor confirmed. The garlic pickers claimed they had made a mistake in the woodland area. The statements could not be refuted by the investigators. Previously, SWR had reported.
The forest owner had noticed the men during the harvest and informed the police. When the officers arrived, the pickers were reportedly packing the garlic into sacks and loading it onto a lorry.
According to the spokesperson, the company for which the persons worked paid a low four-digit amount as compensation to the forest owner.
According to the Federal Nature Conservation Act, one can only pick small quantities of flowers, grasses, ferns, mosses, lichens, fruits, mushrooms, tea and medicinal herbs from wild-growing plants - approximately a bouquet per person. However, kilogram-heavy sacks often leave the forest areas. In Leipzig forests, the police even go out against garlic thieves with a bicycle squad.
- Despite the men's claims of a misunderstanding, the public prosecutor's office in Heilbronn, Baden-Württemberg, is still investigating their alleged involvement in Garlic Mustard theft.
- The criminal activity of the three individuals, suspected of Garlic Mustard theft in Kupferzell, has raised concerns within the local nature conservation community.
- The Garlic Mustard pickers, who were apprehended in Hohenlohe-Circuit, could face charges for their alleged involvement in the incident, as investigations continue under the supervision of the police and the Public Prosecutor's Office in Heilbronn.
- The ongoing garlic theft cases in various parts of Germany, including the incident in Hohenlohe-Circuit, have sparked calls for stricter enforcement of the Federal Nature Conservation Act and increased public awareness about the consequences of criminality against nature.
