Fruit bandits hit Japan's cherry orchards

Police believe the cherries are being sold on the black market

Fruit thieves have stolen 1.4 tonnes of cherries in midnight raids on orchards in northern Japan.

Police in Yamagata prefecture investigating the thefts said that the stolen cherries were of the highly-prized "Sugar Brocade" variety, and that the total market value of the haul was in the region of 3.7 million yen (US$31,335).

Police said that they have no leads so far, but that they suspect that the thieves are professional cherry pickers.

Only perfectly ripe cherries ready for shipping were taken, and they were picked in a careful manner so as not to damage the tree's buds.

"I do not think they are going to be eating all those cherries themselves, " said Matashi Suzuki, a police spokesman.

One local cherry farmer said that it was impossible for even a skilful farmer to pick more than 100 kilogrammes of cherries in a day.

Yamagata prefecture is renowned for its succulent cherries and has been targeted by thieves in previous years, although not on this scale.