OXNARD, CAMARILLO : $4,500 in Chemicals Stolen From Farms
About $4,500 worth of agricultural chemicals were stolen Thursday from two farms in Oxnard and Camarillo, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department said.
Cal Sun Farms in Oxnard lost $3,677 worth of Omite Miticide, an insecticide, and the fungicides Benalate and Rovral, Sheriff’s Sgt. Keith Lazz said.
Hiji Bros. Ranches in Camarillo lost about $900 worth of Benalate and an insecticide called Avid, Lazz said. He said the chemicals are often stolen and sold on the black market.
Theft of chemicals from farms is a common crime, authorities said. People who steal the chemicals can avoid special licensing fees and procedures required to purchase and store toxins that are potentially hazardous, Lazz said.
Under state law, hazardous materials of the kind that were stolen must be stored in a locked enclosure with proper warning signs, said David Buettner, chief deputy agricultural commissioner of Ventura County.
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