Gone in 60 seconds: The great Queensland lemon tree heist

Thieves are turning to sour tactics in Brisbane, with one mum reporting a stolen lemon tree – roots and all.

Ineke McMahon arrived home from school drop-off on Friday, July 20, and noticed something amiss in her front yard. Her lemon tree was not there.

After reviewing her home security footage, she identified the culprit.

“This is the car. It goes past and then turns around and comes back,” she said in a video shared with Nine’s Today show.

“Twenty seconds later, here comes the lady and pulls out my tree and runs off with it.”

The lemon tree heist occurred just after 4am, with footage showing the woman uprooting the tree and walking off with it in under 60 seconds.

A trail of dirt led from the scene of the crime to a spot where McMahon believed a getaway car collected the woman and the stolen tree.

“Look at the path of dirt … I mean, what the hell?” she said.

The motive behind the unidentified woman’s actions was unknown.

McMahon has reported the incident to police for further investigation.

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