Summary
Police in Saxony, Germany, uncovered an illegal wild garlic harvesting ring, seizing 100 kg of bulbs worth thousands of euros.
Six suspects, including repeat offenders, were caught in two separate vehicles with bags of the protected plant.
Wild garlic, prized in cooking, can only be collected in small amounts for personal use under German law. Large-scale theft is a recurring issue.
The suspects are now under investigation for gang theft.
Big TIL moment
Wild garlic is to die for. I remember the first time I had it was on a trip to england, wentall over but down in cornwall the stuff grows like weeds, so whenever I was walking I grabbed a bunch and chomped away, 2 days later everyone woke up to the fine scent of garlic… I was barred from eating any more wild garlic for the rest if the trip
You just ate garlic straight? Never heard of that.
So if it can only be collected in small amounts and it’s in such high demand why isn’t more grown?
Because then it wouldn’t be wild garlic any more, would it? 😝
Nope, wild garlic is not garlic just grown outside of gardens.
Garlic is a tuber while wild garlic is a leafy plant which just happens to smell a lot like garlic.
The wild garlic being discussed here is Allium ursinum, domesticated garlic is Allium sativum and you can totally eat the leaves in addition to the bulb. There are also lots of other edible species of garlic found across the world. They are all collectively in the garlic genus and are all different forms of garlic.
Well then it wouldnt be wild, would it
They turned to stop and inspect the vehicle and noticed a pungent smell coming from the trunk. They asked the three Russian national occupants, aged 27, 29 and 39, to open it up.
This has me imagining some type of spoof comedy about the Russian mob and their illegal wild garlic harvests going up against the Mexican cartels and their avocado racket.
