Detectives with the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office arrested a man they say is responsible for stealing $350,000 worth of pistachios and big rig trailers.
The investigation began on August 14 when Ag detectives were called to Setton Pistachio in Terra Bella for the report of a possible cargo theft. Detectives learned the person responsible was using the identity of a legitimate trucking company.
Using that company’s name, they set up a contract with Setton Pistachio to deliver two tractor-trailer loads of packaged pistachios, worth more than $294,000. After picking up the pistachios, the truck was taken to an abandoned property in Selma where the nuts were removed from the packaging.
The pistachios were then sold to an unsuspecting buyer in Madera County. Detectives also learned the trailers used to pick up the pistachios were stolen from a business in Fresno. Fortunately, those trailers were equipped with GPS trackers, which helped detectives locate them once the Fresno business owner reported the theft…Â Fox26 News