A farmer arranges harvested strawberries in a greenhouse in Gwangju, almost 270 kilometers south of Seoul, Jan. 18. Newsis

Police in South Gyeongsang Province arrested a man on Monday on suspicion of stealing 390 kilograms of strawberries from fruit farms in the city of Gimhae.

The suspect, who lives in the same neighborhood as the farms, is alleged to have stolen the strawberries to help pay his debts last month and early this month, making approximately 7.8 million won ($5,846) through their sales, according to the police. He is currently in police custody.

Strawberries, seasonal to winter, are a high-priced fruit in Korea and their resale value is thought to be a possible motivation for the crime.

The suspect, not a farmer himself, confessed to sneaking into greenhouses at night, taking packaged strawberries and selling them the next day to bars and stores in Gimhae and Miryang for 50,000 won ($37.40) per box.

The man, who has prior convictions, had been living in the village for years and knew that the locks on the strawberry greenhouses didn't work properly, the police quoted the suspect as saying. Police said that as they had initially suspected that the crime had been committed by professional thieves, the progress of the investigation was slower than expected.

In earlier news reports, victims claimed the stolen strawberries amounted to 2 tons, but the claim was later corrected to 390 kilograms.