The theft of 5.75 quintals of onion seeds and another 18 kilograms of cabbage seeds affected five provinces of Cuba. The theft took place last August at the Frigorifico 800 warehouse in Sancti Spiritus. According to the Sancti Spiritus newspaper Escambre, the eight people involved are awaiting trial and if proven guilty will be deprived of liberty for between seven and 15 years.
The newspaper’s own article states that “His social behavior was poor, he was prone to criminal acts. Two of them had criminal records for the crime of robbery by force. “The two others were custodians of the refrigerator.”
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The people who were arrested and prosecuted told the police how they stole the seeds from that place. On August 28, six men entered the unit and cut the fence with a saw.
They then reached refrigerated room number nine and breached the security of a safe which contained onion seeds and other quality vegetables that would be used in the current cold season.
According to the newspaper, “he had relied on the expertise of two former employees of the unit who had worked as crime guides.”
Police confirmed that the biggest crime was stealing belongings of the population. At present, six thieves are in provisional jail and the security agents have been allowed to be released on bail.
Orestes Ramírez, director of the Semilas Sancti Spiritus Base Business Unit (UEB), addressed the topic.
“We really feel very affected and I’m not just talking about the monetary value, but also about the fact that growers were left without seeds and ultimately the population had to suffer the consequences.”
“It was not possible to import seeds for onion sowing this year, as we all know the limitations. The nationally produced Carib 71 was to be used,” the executive explained.
Regarding the seeds, which were reserved for the provinces of Pinar del Río, Mayabeque, Granma, Camagüey and Ciego de Ávila, police reported that 5.34 quintals of onions and 26 packages of cabbage were recovered.