A man will face court charged over the theft of cacti worth thousands of dollars from two Riverland properties.
On Thursday 25 November, Waikerie Police were patrolling the Sturt Highway at Waikerie when they stopped a vehicle travelling west. There were several cacti inside the vehicle, which aroused suspicion, however, there hadn’t been any reported thefts at this time.
The following day, the patrol noticed a social media post about cacti plants stolen from a Woodleigh property, near Loxton. A day later, another social media post reported more cacti had been stolen from an address in Berri.
On Saturday 27 November, Southern District CIB detectives executed a search warrant at an Aldinga Beach address. It will be alleged that officers recovered all of the stolen Riverland cacti.
The 46-year-old Aldinga Beach man was arrested and charged with two counts of serious criminal trespass, two counts of theft, unlawfully on premises, possess ammunition, cultivate cannabis, possess prescribed equipment, possess prohibited weapon and possess firearm (gel blaster) without a licence.
He was bailed to appear in the Berri Magistrates Court on 11 January.
Police would like to remind the public to report crime in a timely manner to their local police.
