Police in Franklin County, Missouri, say people are stealing walnut
trees for drug money.
It’s part of a larger auto theft ring that investigators uncovered about
a month ago.
Franklin County Sheriff Gary Toelke says at least two dozen vehicles
have been stolen, mostly big trucks, even a few tow trucks.
It turns out the thieves were using the tow trucks to steal lumber.
“The tow trucks, I think they used those to help lift the logs onto some
of the trucks,” Toelke said.
According to Roger Branson, owner of nearby Red Rooster Sawmill, the
market is sky-high for walnut wood right now. It’s popular with interior
decorators, and foreign companies are buying it in bulk. They slice the
walnut into razor-thin pieces and glue it onto cheaper wood.
Branson says it’s somewhat common for walnut logs to bring in $10,000
each.
“One of the suspects they arrested had a check in his pocket, where he had sold a log, and it was a little over $2,000 for the one log,” Toelke said. Investigators say the criminals chopped down trees on private property, and possibly on state or federal land. They sold the logs to saw mills. Then the criminals would ditch the stolen vehicles, some stripped of expensive parts. “We think they’ve been taking orders for different parts, off the trucks.
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