More than 3,000 cabbages have been stolen from three farms in Ibaraki Prefecture during the past week just before they were ready to be harvested.

Police said 1,200 cabbages, valued at 600,000 yen, were stolen on the night of Dec 17 or early the next morning from a field in Yachiyo town, NHK reported. The grower told police he had left the field at 4:30 p.m. on Dec 17, and noticed the theft around 7:30 a.m. the next day.

On Dec 16, about 1,200 cabbages were stolen from a farm in Koga city. The grower, a man in his 70s, said the cabbages were worth about 375 yen each.

The third theft was discovered on the afternoon of Dec 18, when a grower reported to police that approximately 840 cabbages had been taken from his field in Yuki city. The cabbages were scheduled to be shipped on the 19th.

As there have been a series of cabbage thefts in the prefecture, the police are urging farmers to take measures such as installing security cameras and making regular patrols.