30 pallets of beehives stolen from Madera County orchard found in Fresno County

More than 30 pallets of stolen bee hives were recovered by Madera and Fresno county law enforcement officials Friday.

The hives were stolen from an orchard on Road 20 in Madera County in March and found in 6000 block of East Central last week. The hives are worth $35,000.

Madera County detectives arrested 51-year-old Pavel Tveretinov of Sacramento on suspicion of possession of stolen property. He was later booked into the Madera County Department of Corrections.

Madera County Sheriff’s Cmdr. Bill Ward said bee hive thefts are not uncommon in the Valley, where beehives are brought in by the truckload to pollinate thousands of acres of almonds. Ward said detectives believe the suspect was also in the “bee business.”

“Hives can be worth a lot of money,” he said.

Ward urged beekeepers to mark their hives in some way or to check them regularly to prevent theft.

This story was originally published May 1, 2017 at 5:14 PM with the headline "30 pallets of beehives stolen from Madera County orchard found in Fresno County."