The three men broke into a three-acre plot belonging to the Zhengzhou Fruit Tree Research Institute in the central Chinese province of Henan, a government facility where scientists have worked for 13 years to grow the perfect peach.
Inside, they filled three bags with perhaps the rarest peaches in China, whose trees cost roughly two to three million yuan (£200,000 to £300,000) to cultivate.
"They stole maybe ten to 20 types of peaches, which we have been crossbreeding for a decade. Many of them are national research projects and they come from the last remaining trees of their type," said Niu Liang, the vice head of research at the government orchard.
A road next to the orchard, which belongs to the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, was recently widened and builders had knocked down the east wall, allowing access to the usually highly guarded facility.
The break-in happened on Monday evening, but the alarm was quickly raised by some nearby villagers. Mr Niu said he rushed to the compound with two colleagues and managed to apprehend one of the scrumpers still stuffing his bag.
The other two men managed to make their escape into the night.
"We are still searching for the other thieves," said Sun Yanan, a police officer who was at the scene. "We will definitely catch them. The institute is currently trying to assess the damage they caused before we decide whether there is a case."
The man who was caught, Li Yonggang, was described by Mr Sun as in his mid-30s and possibly mentally handicapped. "He cannot provide any names. We think the other two guys put him up to it. He has been taken away by the village security committee chief and put in custody."
Mr Li told the DaHe newspaper: "It was the first time I had stolen peaches. The other two guys were a fortune teller and an incense seller. I know it was a research institute, but I had no idea these peaches were so valuable".
Additional reporting by Valentina Luo
