Yet another day brings another food-related crime. Thieves have made off with 400 legs of festive ham, valued at an estimated €200,000, from gourmet suppliers—just in time for Christmas, the scoundrels. The Iberion acorn-fed ham, a cultural delicacy bearing the 'Protected Designation of Origin Jabugo' seal, was stolen in the early hours of 13 November from Jamones Eíriz, a family-run business located in the mountain village of Corteconcepción, southern Andalucia.
Domingo Eíriz, a member of the family that operates Jamones Eíriz, recounted how they were first alerted to the theft when a worker inquired, “Domingo, where are the hams, have you taken them?” In an interview with Antena 3 television, Eíriz elaborated, “When I realized they were gone, I instructed everyone not to touch anything. [The thieves] have stolen the third most valuable gourmet product in the world. This is a destruction of years of work.”
Established in 1818, Jamones Eíriz is a small enterprise that employs just 20 individuals, eight of whom are family members. The company supplies its meats across Spain, which are highly sought after for their natural drying processes that infuse the hams with local aromas over months. Police investigating the crime suspect that five individuals were involved and are exploring the possibility of an inside job, as Eíriz noted, “It was not a place where we usually store this product. It had been brought here specifically to label it.”
While the value of each leg of ham varies by weight, the estimated value is over €500 per leg. “They knew exactly what they were doing and they did it at the worst time possible—right before Christmas,” Eíriz added. In a social media post, the business urged people to be cautious about where and from whom they purchase their products, to avoid inadvertently supporting stolen goods. The Instagram post reads, “Collaborate by buying a safe product, with its traceability and not just anywhere or at any price! Thank you all for your collaboration.”
This ham heist follows a similarly alarming dairy robbery in London, where 22 metric tons (48,488 pounds) of award-winning cheddar, worth more than £300,000 (€360,000), were stolen from Neal’s Yard Dairy. Police have since arrested a 63-year-old man in connection with the crime.
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