Palm Tree Thieves Thwarted by Microchips
By JENNA BRIAND
Updated 8:11 AM PST, Sun, Oct 11, 2009
We've heard of micro-chipping a car to locate it after theft, or even a pet. But implanting a microchip in a palm tree? That's new.
Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Turns out there's quite a racket going on in the Southern Coachella Valley with the theft of young date palms. To combat the crimes, a community services team is working with palm growers to better protect their crops, reported InstantRiverside.com.
A Delray Beach, Fla. company, VeriChip, is selling radio-frequency ID (RFID) tags that are easily planted on the trees. The data encoded on an RFID tag would allow officers to trace the tree back to its owner.
Why would someone steal a palm tree? Cold hard cash. A mature palm can sell for anywhere from a couple hundred to several thousand dollars, depending on its height and variety.
And how would someone steal one? Sneakiness, and a big truck. A young date palm can be up to 10 feet tall.
Tree thieves, be warned. Technology like this might thwart your "green market" profits.
First Published: Oct 9, 2009 11:48 AM PST
You Might Like
You have 2000 characters left
