Spain cracks down on mango thieves

A police helicopter and road checkpoints will guard against robbery of Spain’s most valuable crop, until the harvest season is completed in early December.

In the Axarquía region of Andalucía, east of Malaga and popular with tourists who flock to coastal towns like Nerja, the Guardia Civil’s eye-in-the-sky keeps an eye on 9,000 hectares of mango plantations.

Such measures have been introduced to prevent a rise in robbery of the fruit, worth up to €3/kg to thieves.