A report has been made to Land Information New Zealand by a man who witnessed a group of people taking “vast amounts of fruit from trees in the residential red zone for commercial purposes,” LINZ manager land and property Matt Bradley said.
The witness took photographs of the cars being used, which included the licence plate numbers.
However, Mr Bradley said, given the information provided, it would be difficult to investigate the report further.
"We take this allegation seriously and have notified our contractors, who carry out regular monitoring of the residential red zone and have asked them to keep an eye out to help prevent this occurring again.
"These trees were left in the area for the community to enjoy free fruit, and we do not condone them being used for commercial gain."
Last month, city council revealed a new online map, which shows the exact location of more than 6000 fruit and nut trees around the city which are free for consumption.
But, the information was given with a warning, urban foragers should follow foraging etiquette, meaning people should care for the trees and leave enough for the next person.
