A man who stole more than 330 beehives, costing the industry at least $184,000, did “immense harm” financially and to the wider ecosystem.

Judge Christina Cook told Jacob Williams the impact of his well-planned and long-term theft of hives from apiaries across the North Island “could not be underestimated”.

The judge referred to victim impact statements during the 26-year-old’s sentencing in the Tauranga District Court this week, which said some recovered stolen hives had been full of disease.

“Untreated diseases within these hives could spread to other hives in the area causing further harm to the bee population and the ecosystem,” a victim impact statement from Comvita said.

Wallace Steel, from honey producers Smoking Joe NZ, formerly known as Central Plateau Honey, said the theft had caused both financial and emotional harm.

“The team takes pride and effort in care for the bees and the experience of having them stolen has been upsetting for our team and their hard work,” a victim impact statement said.

“The hives which were recovered had to be burned because they weren’t cared for correctly and had disease.”

Steel also said some of the stolen hives had been split in half, so more hives could be supplied, and charged, to orchards.

But this had caused the hives to be weaker and they no longer met the “minimum pollination standards”.

In comments to NZME after sentencing, Steel said he believed others had been involved in Williams’ offending.

“This guy Jacob wasn’t in a position to create contracts,” he said.

“It has had a big flow-on effect to the kiwifruit growers who haven’t received good-quality hives, haven’t received hives at all.”

A summary of facts outlined the background to the theft, with police stating that during September and November, kiwifruit vines produce new shoots with the first flower buds.

There’s a short window of about two weeks when bees can pollinate the flowers, and orchardists employ beekeepers to provide hives, paying around $180 to $200 per hive.

From September to November 2022, and those same months in 2023, Williams stole a total of 333 beehives from apiaries in the central North Island, Waikato and Bay of Plenty.

This included 72 from King Honey, 84 from Central Plateau Honey NZ (now known as Smoking Joe NZ), 79 from Comvita, 49 from apiary owner Brian Walmsley and another 49 from Smoking Joe NZ.

When the individual values of stolen hives, outlined in the summary of facts, were combined the cost was $184,000.

In some instances the beehives were recovered, although some were riddled with disease and needed to be burned.

Williams had used a trailer for at least one theft, and one of the stolen hives had fallen off near Taupō.

Williams told police that someone else had told him to put beehives in orchards in the Te Puke area.

Because he didn’t own any hives, he fulfilled the contract by stealing the hives and placing them in the orchards at night.

The summary of facts said once the hives were no longer needed for pollination, Williams would gather them up and return them near where he had stolen them.

However, Williams also told police he would often return to find the bees were all dead, or no longer where he had left them.

Judge Cook sentenced Williams to 11 months’ home detention.

She told Williams she needed to denounce his offending and deter others from doing likewise.

“The harm you have done is immense, both in terms of the wider impact and also the financial impact.

“But I also need to temper that with the fact that it is appropriate to keep you in the community and for reparation to be made.”

She made three reparation orders - one of $43,242, another of $16,560, and a third one of $18,170, for the various blocks of offending. The total reparation of nearly $78,000 was to be paid at $300 per week.

Judge Cook said it was a “greatly reduced figure”.

“But it’s accepted the reparation figure needs to be achievable,” the judge said.

Hannah Bartlett is a Tauranga-based Open Justice reporter at NZME. She previously covered court and local government for the Nelson Mail, and before that was a radio reporter at Newstalk ZB.