MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. — Eleven people are in custody after the Martin County Sheriff's Office said a "group of traveling thieves" was caught trying to cash in on thousands of pounds of illegally harvested saw palmetto berries.
The lucrative berries are ripe from August to November in Florida and frequently attract people looking to cash in on the fruit.
According to the sheriff's office, an "organized crime ring" had been surveilling private property and farmland in Martin County.
Investigators said the suspects traveled from outside the county and targeted a property near Southwest Citrus Boulevard.
However, detectives with the Martin County Sheriff's Office agricultural unit said they were conducting counter-surveillance, tracking the suspects' movements into the county.
"As anticipated, they struck — but instead of moving into a berry bounty, they walked right into a bountiful bust," the sheriff's office wrote on a post on its Facebook page.
When deputies attempted to take the men into custody, the sheriff's office said the 11 suspects attempted to resist arrest and evade capture, prompting law enforcement to deploy Tasers.
"When the dust settled, all 11 suspects were safely in handcuffs—thanks to the relentless work of our Agricultural Deputies, Special Investigations Division Detectives, and Aviation Unit. All of the thieves were taken to jail. Nine of them were undocumented and are now under ICE detainers," the sheriff's office said.
Detectives said they recovered 6,000 pounds of stolen berries that the suspects had picked.
Other evidence seized during the bust included journals listing potential other victims, according to officials.
The suspects face felony and misdemeanor charges.
The coveted berries are mostly made into dietary supplements.
Click here for details on how to legally harvest saw palmetto berries in Florida.
