MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. — There’s a lucrative business almost exclusive to South Florida that literally grows on trees: saw palmetto berries.

These berries attract people looking to make a lot of money quickly. But that big profit also attracts criminals who, starting this year, face a criminal charge for harvesting the berries without a permit or permission to harvest them on private property or public land.

Martin County deputies told WPTV anchor Meghan McRoberts that the harsher sentence doesn’t stop criminals.

“That’s not the case. It hasn’t slowed him down at all,” said Martin County Ranch and Grove Deputy Jason Slay. “It’s a multi-million dollar business.”

Slay took us to a large private property in western Martin County, where saw palmetto berries grow in abundance and various people have legal permits to harvest them. Landowners can take advantage of what is already growing naturally on their property by entering into agreements with pickers to collect the berries, thereby sharing a portion of the profits after they are sold.

The berries grow on long, pointed stems in sticky clusters. Conditions are typically harsh, with harvesters facing heat, dangerous wildlife and having to wade through thick brush to fill heavy bags of berries.

The berries are mainly processed into dietary supplements. People who harvest the berries in Martin County typically sell them to cash buyers in Indiantown. These buyers then send the berries to Immokalee to begin processing.

“100% legal,” Slay said.

But Slay is looking for people who sneak into parks and private lands to illegally harvest the berries.

“A lot of times they try to blend in with the crowd of people who are harvesting legally,” Slay said. “They will denounce him. They will denounce them to get them out of there, because they are taking the money that legal fishermen receive.

Slay says deputies don’t spend a lot of time tracking down individuals who are picking without a permit. They focus on larger criminal groups, often made up of a dozen or more people who are not legally present in the country.

“A lot of these illegal crews set up camps and stay there all night,” Slay said. “They make hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash. They even change vehicles every day, etc.

Since July, when illegal harvesting of saw palmetto berries became a third-degree felony in Florida, the Martin County Sheriff’s Office has made at least 30 arrests, confiscating 17,867 pounds of illegally harvested berries, a total of value over $20,000.

The deputies learned to understand their project.

“They will leave trash everywhere. They don’t get back what they brought with them. It will be left there, and there will be piles of water bottles. You name it. They leave a mark on you,” Slay said.

He also looks for bags of berries that appear to be covered in branches.

“They will do this so that flying helicopters won’t see them,” Slay said.

It takes a lot of time to track down people harvesting saw palmetto berries without a permit, but the work is worth it, Slay said. It helps protect landowners and preserves a food source for wildlife from overexploitation, which protects the entire ecosystem.

That’s why he’ll brave the elements, digging through the brush, enduring the heat, and encountering wild animals to track down criminals.

“As far as you gotta go,” Slay said.

Slay says it’s also illegal to harvest the berries on your own property to sell without a state permit.

A third-degree felony is punishable by up to 5 years in prison.