Botanical Bandits target Detroit business on city's east side

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Detroit police are searching for what they're calling Botanical Bandits who have targeted a business on the city's east side.

Purvis and Foster is in the business of commercial and industrial repair work - but they also take pride in the landscape around their building. So when employees arrived Friday morning they knew right away that plants were missing

"About 5:30 a.m. people pulled up and go dig up three of our Hostas, throw them in the back of SUV and take off with them." Chris Clapp of Purvis and Foster, Inc. said.

The green-thumbed crook uprooted the plants and hoped it would go unnoticed - but it was all caught on surveilance cameras. Employees say this has happened more than once and believe it was the same person.

"It was about 6 months ago - last fall. Same vehicle, looks like same person I would imagine doing same type of thing, dig them up and away they go," Clapp said.

He doesn't know why the Hosta plant would be attractive for a crook - but he knows why the company likes it: it grows big and reproduces. The company says it will shell out more money to have them replaced again...

The company says it plans to contact police about this recent crime and they hope anyone who recognizes the man or vehicle in the video will also contact police