11 arrested after 6,000 pounds of saw palmetto berries illegally harvested, sheriff’s office says

By Jon Shainman , Scott Sutton

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    MARTIN COUNTY, Florida (WPTV) — Eleven people are in custody after the Martin County Sheriff’s Office said a “group of traveling thieves” was caught trying to cash in on thousands of pounds of illegally harvested saw palmetto berries.

The lucrative berries are ripe from August to November in Florida and frequently attract people looking to cash in on the fruit.

According to the sheriff’s office, an “organized crime ring” had been surveilling private property and farmland in Martin County.

Investigators said the suspects traveled from outside the county and targeted a property near Southwest Citrus Boulevard located west of Palm City.

However, detectives with the Martin County Sheriff’s Office agricultural unit said they were conducting counter-surveillance, tracking the suspects’ movements into the county.

The aviation unit from the Martin County Sheriff’s Office watched as bags of saw palmetto berries were put in a van. Deputies continued surveillance, making 11 arrests after the suspects met up at a hotel in Stuart.

“As anticipated, they struck — but instead of moving into a berry bounty, they walked right into a bountiful bust,” the sheriff’s office wrote on a post on its Facebook page.

When deputies attempted to take the men into custody, the sheriff’s office said the suspects attempted to resist arrest and evade capture, prompting law enforcement to deploy Tasers.

“When the dust settled, all 11 suspects were safely in handcuffs—thanks to the relentless work of our Agricultural Deputies, Special Investigations Division Detectives, and Aviation Unit. All of the thieves were taken to jail. Nine of them were undocumented and are now under ICE detainers,” the sheriff’s office said.

Detectives said they recovered 6,000 pounds of stolen berries that the suspects had picked.

Other evidence seized during the bust included journals listing potential other victims, according to officials.

“This is something we’ve been dealing with for several years now,” Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek said.

The suspects face felony and misdemeanor charges.

The sheriff told WPTV the men are a group of organized criminals from Immokalee.

The coveted berries are mostly made into dietary supplements for prostate issues.

Martin County, and Florida in general, are known as one of the few places on earth where the berries grow naturally.

The sheriff responded to critics on social media, asking what the big deal is in taking something that grows naturally in Florida.

“How would you feel if you knew organized groups of thieves were coming to our sugar cane fields and harvesting sugar cane and selling it for a huge markup profit at the end of the day,” Budensiek said. “Our ranchers are tired of being victimized here in Martin County.”

WPTV talked to the man who leases the property where the berry thefts occurred, and he told us that if the suspects hadn’t been caught, he would have lost about $8,000.

The lessee didn’t want to go on camera, but shared a picture of potential berry thieves on the property just a day after these arrests.

In 2024, the Florida Legislature made it a third-degree felony for people to illegally harvest the berries.

WPTV anchor Meghan McRoberts rode along with Martin County deputies last fall as they tried to put the brakes on this type of crime. But despite the added penalties, the alleged thieves don’t seem to be deterred.

“We thought this year, between penalties being harder and immigration enforcement ramped up, that these individuals would really be leery about stealing these berries across the state,” Budensiek said. “That has not been the case.”

Click here for details on how to legally harvest saw palmetto berries in Florida.

Of the 11 men arrested, 10 remain in jail Wednesday afternoon, and eight currently have detainers with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

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