Growing custard apples in Tay Ninh produces delicious fruit. People can't sleep or eat before the fruit opens. Why is that?

To have a bumper crop of custard apples, farmers have to spend a lot of time, effort and investment capital. However, in recent years, in Tay Ninh, the situation of stealing custard apples has appeared on an increasingly large scale, making many gardeners very upset but there is no effective way to prevent it.

There have been many thefts.

According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Hoai, residing in Tan Trung A hamlet, Tan Hung commune, Tan Chau district (Tay Ninh province), her family grows 1 hectare of Thai custard apple.

Recently, almost every year, the garden is discovered to be stolen in large quantities, including unripe fruits. The garden owner has to spend extra money to hire 2 workers to guard the garden, the salary is 120,000 VND/person/night. Not to mention, Ms. Hoai's husband and children work all night to help guard.

The first, second, and third times, the thief was discovered by Mrs. Hoai's family, who surrounded and caught him, confiscating more than 70 kg of custard apples.

The case has been handed over to the authorities for handling. According to Ms. Hoai, the situation of custard apple theft is very complicated, thieves often come in groups at night. Many times, the garden owner sees the thief, but because of fear, does not dare to catch him, only dares to say: "You have picked enough, let's go."

“Just counting this year’s crop, my family is estimated to have lost about 1 ton of custard apples, with an estimated loss of 48 million VND. I really hope that the local government will soon have a solution to support people to prevent this situation and strictly handle custard apple thieves so that people can feel secure in their production,” said Ms. Hoai.

Mrs. Le Thi Nho's family cultivates more than 20 hectares of custard apples (traditional custard apples) in Phuoc Binh 1 hamlet, Suoi Da commune, Duong Minh Chau district, and is also frequently robbed. Mrs. Nho said that recently, thieves sneaked into her family's garden to steal the fruit. When discovered, they ran away, leaving two baskets containing about 70 kg of custard apples on the side of the road.

Soursop garden of people in Tan Hung commune, Tan Chau district (Tay Ninh province) is preparing for harvest season.

Mrs. Nho said that in recent years, her family has often had custard apples stolen, but the thieves and the goods have not been caught, so it is difficult to accurately count the number of fruits lost over a large area.

Not stopping there, this year Mrs. Nho’s family lost 9 motors used to pump water for watering plants. With the situation of theft becoming more and more rampant, Mrs. Nho’s family in particular and many local soursop growers have had to hire workers to guard the garden.

“Farmers who grow custard apples have invested a lot of capital, now they have to shoulder the additional cost of hiring workers to guard the garden. For every 1 hectare of custard apples that is about to be harvested, the garden owner has to hire 2 workers to guard the garden, each person's salary is about 6 million VND/month. That does not include other expenses such as food, gas for patrolling, money to buy electric wires and light bulbs to light up to prevent theft...

In fact, because the area of ​​​​sour apples is quite large, garden owners cannot set up fences around the whole area, garden guards also have to rest sometimes, while thieves often travel in groups and operate in an organized manner, so it is very difficult to catch. I recommend that the authorities have a plan to prevent and combat this theft crime to support and help people preserve the sour apples until harvest day" - Ms. Nho presented.

Local authorities intervene

Mr. Le Minh Trung - Chairman of the Board of Directors of Minh Trung Agricultural Service Cooperative (HTX) said that the Cooperative links production and consumption of custard apples with 127 members, with cultivated land in Tan Hung, Tan Phu, Tan Hoi communes of Tan Chau district and some other localities in the province.

Since 2020, custard apple growers have had difficulty guarding their gardens as harvest approaches. According to statistics from cooperative members, more than 30% of custard apple orchards have been stolen, with the number of lost fruits possibly reaching tons.

The thefts mostly occur at night, especially when the custard apples are about to be harvested. In addition, farmers have had their water pumps and phones stolen while guarding their gardens.

According to the cooperative members, the thieves usually travel in groups. When they arrive at the custard apple garden, they split up, each person going in a different direction and carrying only a nylon bag or a basket that can hold a few dozen kilos, picking many times during the night.

Perhaps the purpose of this type of theft is to deal with the garden owner and the authorities when discovered and arrested. Because at the same time it is impossible to chase many subjects running in many directions. In case one person is arrested, the value of the evidence is only a few dozen kilos of custard apples, making it difficult to handle criminally.

According to Mr. Le Minh Trung, people have difficulty guarding their gardens due to the large area, which limits their coverage. On the other hand, thieves often travel in groups, so even if the garden owner discovers them, they are still in a weak and dangerous position; there have been many cases of fights and injuries when chasing thieves.

This situation has caused confusion and insecurity for custard apple growers. Therefore, Mr. Trung recommended that local authorities pay attention and have a plan to prevent and combat this crime drastically so that people can feel secure in their production.

Mr. Nguyen Tuan Sinh - Chairman of Tan Hung Commune People's Committee (Tan Chau District, Tay Ninh Province) said that at the time when custard apples had high prices, there was a situation of theft in the commune.

Recently, the Commune Police arrested a subject, confiscated less than 100 kg of custard apples, the case was transferred to the District Police for handling.

Mr. Nguyen Tuan Sinh said, in the face of the situation of custard apple theft, the Commune People's Committee directed the Commune Police to coordinate with organizations, groups, and hamlets to strengthen propaganda work to inform people about the tricks of thieves. At the same time, the locality mobilized security and order protection forces to coordinate with the Police to effectively perform the task of managing the area, especially the situation of custard apple theft in Tan Hung Commune.

Mr. Nguyen Hoa Binh - Vice Chairman of Tan Chau District People's Committee (Tay Ninh Province) confirmed that recently, there has been a rise in custard apple theft in the district.

On September 21, 2024, Tan Hung Commune Police discovered two subjects stealing custard apples, arrested one subject with 65 kg of custard apples, the other subject escaped. The District Police are handling the theft case and handling it according to regulations.

At monthly meetings, the Chairman of Tan Chau District People's Committee regularly directs functional forces and Chairmen of Commune People's Committees to strengthen direction for Commune Police and local people's patrol forces to increase patrols to detect and handle criminals, including crimes of stealing agricultural products - especially custard apples in the district.

The Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Tan Chau district (Tay Ninh province) also said that in the coming time, the People's Committee of the district will issue a document directing the Chief of the District Police to direct the Chiefs of Police of communes and towns in the district to do a good job of preventing and combating crimes - especially custard apple theft.

In addition, the District People's Committee will issue a document directing the Chairmen of the People's Committees of communes and towns to strengthen the work of grasping the situation and firmly grasping the subjects to have measures to prevent, combat and reduce all types of crimes, including the crime of stealing agricultural products in Tan Chau district.

Source: https://danviet.vn/trong-mang-cau-ra-qua-ngon-o-tay-ninh-trai-chua-mo-mat-dan-da-mat-an-mat-ngu-vi-sao-vay-20241107233404419.htm