The hives were stolen in several locations in the municipality of Odemira, being placed on farms in the municipality of Beja, by network members who reside in a location in the same municipality.
The Territorial Command Beja (CTBeja) da National Republican Guard (GNR) carried out “Operation Bee” throughout the day yesterday., which targeted several farms, aiming to dismantle a network dedicated to the theft of beehives.
Military personnel from the Criminal Investigation Units (NIC), Territorial Posts and the Nature and Environmental Protection Service (SEPNA) were in three farms in the municipality of Beja, where they seized around three hundred beehives and accused them, the perpetrators of the thefts.
The investigation into the case began at the beginning of this year, after some reports of hive thefts, particularly in the Odemira area, and second found the Lidador News (LN), Those responsible for the thefts reside in a town close to Beja.
The group's modus operandi was stealing hives, placing them on farms to pollinate the crops existing there, in exchange for removing the honey produced by bees. The authorities are convinced that the farm owners are not involved in looting the hives. Some gave up land in exchange for pollination, existing to pay the “rent of the bees”.
Yesterday during the operation, the beekeepers who had participated in the theft of their hives, accompanied the GNR in identifying the same. After counting and identification, GNR will deliver the hives to the legitimate owners, with more reports of thefts appearing throughout the day after the operation was known to have been carried out.
CTBeja should take stock of the operation in the next few hours, who dealt a rude blow to the theft of beehives, which caused serious economic losses to beekeepers in the municipality of Odemira.
Teixeira Correia
(journalist)
