FBI: Fertilizer safe

Lauren Vane

An FBI spokesperson said Friday it is “highly unlikely” that large

quantities of fertilizer stolen from a Huntington Beach nursery could

be used to make explosives.

An estimated 7,500 pounds of fertilizer containing ammonium

nitrate was stolen sometime during the night of July 13 from the

Village Nurseries facility at Garfield Avenue and Ward Street, police

said.

Huntington Beach police notified the FBI due to the nature of the

chemical involved, police said. Local police are continuing the

investigation in conjunction with the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task

Force.

Two different types of fertilizer were reported stolen from the

nursery. Product information states that both fertilizers are

noncombustible.

The fertilizer was inside the facility awaiting use for industrial

planting when it was stolen, said Village Nurseries spokesperson

Terri Cook. Whoever stole the fertilizer broke in through a chain

link fence and likely took the three pallets of fertilizer using a

single-axel truck, Cook said.

Other than the fence surrounding the property, the fertilizer was

not locked up. Cook said there is no reason to further secure the

product.

“We do not feel that this is a chemical or a product that we need

to worry about,” Cook said.

This is not the first time the 60-acre facility has been

burglarized. There have been five or six break-ins throughout the

year, Cook said.

The nursery does have security in place, but Cook would not

comment as to whether or not the facility is equipped with security

cameras.

Cook, a member of the California Rural Crime Prevention Task

Force, said that agricultural crime is on the rise in Southern

California.

“Is it terrorists? Who knows?” Cook said.

Despite other burglaries at the nursery, they have never received

this much police and media attention, Cook said.

“We never wanted this [attention]; this isn’t anything we ever

asked for.”

We just want to grow plants, Cook said.

* LAUREN VANE covers education and crime. She can be reached at

(714) 966-4610 or [email protected].