OVIEDO, Fla. — The skyrocketing price of fruits and veggies has attracted a particularly canny variety of truck thief.

And so far, cops’ efforts to nab the perps have been fruitless.

Last month, criminals stole six loads of tomatoes, a truck full of cucumbers and at least one trailer loaded with meat. In all, about $300, 000 worth of food was ripped off.

Investigators say the thieves were a sophisticated bunch of criminals.

They established a trucking company, EA Express Ltd., based it in Miami and even registered it with the Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration (FMCSA).

Then, in March, as produce prices rose rapidly largely due to some crop-damaging cold in Mexico, the thieves contacted a load broker who verified the carrier’s legal status and dutifully assigned the trucks to pick up loads.

"They were just sitting and waiting, watching the produce because they knew it was climbing," Clifford Holland, the owner of the transportation brokerage firm Old North State, which was a victim of the gang, told the New York Times. "It was like a snake in the grass and they struck."

The trucks picked up their loads, and everything appeared okay, until none of them made it to their legal destinations. Investigators believe they were sold on the black market, a market that is in growth mode since the produce-price hike.

And, police say, the thieves specifically picked loads destined for northern markets. That way, they would have time to fence the goods, because nobody would notice the loads gone missing until several days after they had been picked up.

The thieves also picked up loads in various police jurisdictions, making it harder for police to coordinate their investigations.

The Cargo Theft unit of the Miami Dade Police is heading the investigation.