Police in Poland have detained a man accused of killing 420,000 bees at the apiary of a fellow beekeper. If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison for criminal damage.
The man was identified from images taken by a camera trap that purportedly showed him and an accomplice carrying out the damage during the night. “The perpetrators forgot that on infrared you can see a face even if it is in a balaclava,” Marek Pochylski, the owner of the beehives, told TVN24.
Sprawca zabicia pół miliona pszczół został zatrzymany przez policjantów z Gostynia. To miejscowy pszczelarz. Grozi mu 5 lat więzienia. pic.twitter.com/Afe3fs7VJp
— Andrzej Borowiak (@BorowiakPolicja) September 17, 2021
The attackers are accused of using a chemical substance to poison 21 bee colonies in Tworzymirki, near Gostyń in Wielkopolska province. They also used spray foam to destroy four uninhabited beehives in the forest, reports Polsat News.
The 34-year-old man arrested on Thursday for criminal damage with an estimated monetary value of 44,000 zloty (€9,570) is a local beekeeper, according to police. He denies the charges, which carry a penalty of between three months and five year’s imprisonment. His alleged accomplice is yet to be identified.
The two suspects were recorded by a camera trap twice – on 1 September, while carrying out reconnaissance of the site, and on 11 September, the night of the attack, when they had their faces covered.
Speaking before the arrest, Pochylski expressed his hope that it was not another beekeeper who was responsible. “It would be utter barbarism – he should be banned from having contact with animals and bees for the rest of his life,” he said.
Main image credit: Pexels/Pixabay
Ben Koschalka is a translator and senior editor at Notes from Poland. Originally from Britain, he has lived in Kraków since 2005.
