'This is a destruction of years of work': Thieves steal €200,000 worth of festive ham in Spain

Another day, another food felony. 

Thieves have stolen 400 legs of festive ham worth an estimated €200,000 from gourmet suppliers - and right before Christmas, the swines. 

The Iberion acorn-fed ham, a cultural delicacy with a 'Protected Designation of Origin Jabugo' seal, was taken in the early hours of 13 November from Jamones Eíriz, a family-run business in the mountain village of Corteconcepción, southern Andalucia. 

Domingo Eíriz, a member of the family that runs Jamones Eíriz, said they were first alerted to the theft after a worker asked: “Domingo, where are the hams, have you taken them?”

In an interview with Antena 3 television, Eíriz explained: “When I saw they were gone, I told 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.”

Founded in 1818, Jamones Eíriz is a small business that employs just 20 people, eight of whom are family members. 

It supplies its meats all over Spain, which are highly coveted for their natural drying processes that take months and flavour the hams with local aromas.

Police investigating the crime believe that five people were involved and suspect it might have been an inside job, with Eíriz having said, “It was not a place where we usually have this product. It had been brought here specifically to label it.” 

While dependent on weight, the estimated value of each leg of ham is more than €500.

“They knew exactly what they were doing and they did it at the worst time possible – right before Christmas,” Eíriz added.

Posting on social media, the business asked people to remain mindful of where and who they buy their products from, lest they end up being stolen goods. 

Translated, the Instagram text reads, “Collaborate by buying a safe product, with its traceability and not just anywhere or at any price! Thank you all for your collaboration.” 

The ham heist follows a similarly disquieting 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 conjunction with the crime.