Green thumbed bandit steals $22k worth of bonsai plants

A MANHUNT is under way for a green thumbed thief after more than $22,000 worth of plants were stolen from a Darwin nursery

Allora Gardens Nursery owner Estelle Cornell with some of her remaining bonsais after a thief made off with $22,000 worth of the plant at the weekend. Picture: Jason Walls

A MANHUNT is under way for a green thumbed thief after more than $22,000 worth of high end bonsai plants and tools were stolen from a Darwin nursery over the weekend.

Allora Gardens Nursery owner Estelle Cornell said she believed the culprit was motivated by greed and was planning on selling the trees on the black market. “My personal opinion is they’re setting up to sell them somewhere,” she said. “Many years ago I was targeted like this and eventually the police felt they were just getting all the high end products at my garden centre and obviously filling a truck up and going south.”

Ms Cornell said on top of the financial cost, the burglar had undone years of hard work to grow the highly specialised sculpted trees.

“A well grown bonsai that takes many years of sculpting and growing is a really special plant it’s not just like you go in and buy a chilli or at tomato (plant) or anything, it’s a really specialised plant that takes a lot of hard work and dedication,” she said.

“And sadly enough they’ve come and pulled all the plants out of the pot and then they’ve come back last night to get the pots.” Despite the setback, Ms Cornell said the police response “couldn’t have been better” and she and a colleague had put up a reward for information leading to a conviction, meaning the perpetrator was on borrowed time.

“I rang triple-0 and within, it would not even have been five minutes, I had at least 10 personnel there and six police cars,” she said.

“One garden centre nursery man down south, he put on Facebook that he’d donate $1000 to anybody who gives a lead and conviction of the people who did this so I matched it with $1000 as well so we’ve got a $2000 reward.”

A police spokeswoman said officers were investigating the theft.