Why the rise in olive heists

A man unloading olives into a loading bin as others look on at an olive oil mill in Spata suburbs, east of Athens, Greece. Across the Mediterranean, warm winters, massive floods, and forest fires are hurting a tradition that has thrived for centuries. — AP

IN an olive grove on the outskirts of Athens, grower Konstantinos Markou pushes aside the shoots of new growth to reveal the stump of a tree – a roughly 150-year-old specimen, he said, that was among 15 cut down on his neighbour’s land by thieves eager to turn it into money.

Surging olive oil prices, driven in part by two years of drought in Spain, has meant opportunity for criminals across the Mediterranean.