Farmer finally catches potato thief after more than 10 years of surveillance

A German farmer who was fed up with a thief abusing his potato honesty box has caught the culprit after more than 10 years of watching and waiting. German farms often have stands outside where passersby can take produce and put money in an honesty box. But a potato fan in Lower Saxony has been taking large numbers of spuds during each visit and paying next to nothing for over a decade.

Fed up with losing potatoes, for which he charges between €1.50 and €5 per sack depending on weight, but not wanting to relinquish the honesty stand, farmer Friedrich Landsberg, 62, set up three cameras. “You simply can't rely on the honesty of humanity,” he said.

It was not until this week that he had enough evidence to report the culprit to the police. The 59-year-old thief normally wore sunglasses so large that identifying him had proved difficult. His car always remained out of sight, meaning that he could not be traced via its license plate.

On Monday the cameras caught the potato thief taking 19 kilos of potatoes, and putting just 15 cents in the honesty box. A few days before this he was filmed taking 12.5 kilos – a haul that would have cost him around €10 in a shop. Finally, the shots were clear enough to identify the mysterious bandit. Police in the Elze area of the state knocked on his door and he confessed to being the prolific potato thief.