Ham heist worth over $200,000 occurs in 'unusual' location in Spain

A Christmas delicacy from Spain was targeted by thieves who stole €200,000 ($209,356) worth of it from a local family business that sends it across the world. Police are on the hunt for these men who now have in their possession some very expensive ham.

The robbers took off with 400 legs of the nation's finest Iberian ham that Jamones Eíriz in Corteconcepción, a gourmet supplier, was supposed to send to families across the world ahead of the festive season.

The ham is considered extremely rare and a carnivorous speciality as it has a "Protected Designation of Origin Jabugo" seal. The Iberian pig is fed on acorns and is raised free range, as per the website of the family business that has been in operation for 200 years.

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Police say that at least five people were involved in the robbery which is believed to be an inside job. The business lost one-third of its ham in the heist.

Domingo Eíriz, one of the persons who runs the family business, says they learnt of the robbery after a worker noticed a bunch of it missing. He asked him, "Domingo, where are the hams, have you taken them?"

Domingo says that each leg costs more than €500 ($523). However, the meat is sold according to its weight.

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Terrible tragedy ahead of festive season

He is shattered by the robbery and says the people involved knew what they were doing since they stole the "third most valuable gourmet product in the world".

He told Spain's Antena 3 television, "When I saw they were gone, I told everyone not to touch anything."

"They knew what they were up to and they did it right in the Christmas season, with the orders we had. This is a destruction of years of work."

He suspects that someone on the inside was involved because the ham was stored at an unusual location where it had only been brought for labelling purposes.

Jamones Eíriz went into business in 1818, with family members continuing with the legacy. It employs 20 people, eight of whom are from the family.

As per the business' website, the Iberian pig "runs freely in the Andalusian nature" and can eat "up to 12 kilos of acorns a day". It also feeds on grass, roots, mushrooms and olives.