Six suspects in Saxony are under investigation for illegally harvesting 100 kg of wild garlic for commercial use, violating conservation laws. Police discovered the operation during a routine stop and linked it to ongoing thefts in protected floodplain forests.

Police in Saxony Investigate Six Suspects for Illegal Commercial Harvesting of Wild Garlic

Police in the German state of Saxony on Tuesday announced that six suspects were under investigation for the illicit commercial harvesting of wild garlic.

Conservation laws in Germany permit only small amounts of the plant—highly valued by chefs as a culinary ingredient—to be picked for personal use. However, the illegal operation was uncovered just after midnight on Tuesday morning when police officers near the town of Oschatz noticed a dark Volvo traveling with its headlights on high beam.

Deciding to stop and inspect the vehicle, officers immediately detected a strong, pungent smell coming from the trunk. They asked the three occupants, Russian nationals aged 27, 29, and 39, to open the trunk for inspection.

"In the trunk, they found several shopping bags full of wild garlic bulbs and harvesting tools. During further investigations, the officers determined that the three men had probably dug up the wild garlic in the floodplain forest in the Leipzig district of Wahren," the Leipziger Zeitung newspaper quoted a police spokeswoman as saying.

Following this discovery, the officers notified their colleagues in Leipzig, instructing them to check the nearby floodplain forest, which has been a known location for illegal wild garlic harvesting.

Their tip-off proved successful. At approximately 2 a.m., officers discovered another vehicle, a BMW, parked at the site, along with three additional suspects aged 26, 32, and 35. These men also had three bags filled with wild garlic bulbs in their possession.

Among the three men found in Leipzig, two were already familiar to the authorities. "Two of the three suspects found in Leipzig had already been caught red-handed stealing wild garlic in Borna a few days ago," the police spokeswoman stated.

In total, police confiscated around 100 kilograms of wild garlic bulbs, with an estimated value of several thousand euros. Following the seizure, officers posted on X (formerly Twitter), referring to the haul as "Green Gold."

The six individuals are now being investigated for the crime of gang theft.

The overharvesting of wild garlic in the floodplain forest has become an annual event each spring, with the activity seemingly beginning earlier every year.

Two years ago, authorities successfully thwarted a large-scale theft by confiscating 40 bags filled with wild garlic. The plant’s leaves are widely used in recipes, including pestos and soups.

While it is generally permitted to pick small amounts of wild garlic leaves for personal use in Germany, uprooting the plants along with their bulbs or collecting leaves in protected areas is prohibited without a special permit.

Authorities also advise collectors to conduct thorough research before foraging, as wild garlic, which flourishes in damp, shady forests and particularly in floodplains, can be easily mistaken for toxic plants such as lily of the valley.