Two men have been arrested for stealing a stash of ham worth more than £173,000.
Police were first alerted to the theft of two vans from a tyre workshop early.
A short while later, they learnt of another break-in at a nearby ham drying facility.
A whopping 296 shoulders of the Jamón – Spanish cured ham – and 448 Ibérico Pork Loin sticks were reported stolen from the facility.
The total value of the edible loot was calculated as a huge €200,000 (£173,000).
Both crimes took place in tiny Villanueva de Córdoba – population 8,587 – near Córdoba, Spain.
The stolen meat had been assigned the “Los Pedroches” protected designation of origin label, according to the Spanish Civil Guard.
The Los Pedroches Valley is known throughout Spain for producing high-quality Ibérico Pork and other cured pork products.
After inspecting both crime scenes, officers began to suspect that the thefts were connected.
As the probe progressed, one of the vans was pinpointed to an industrial estate in Getafe, near Madrid, roughly a four-hour drive away from the crime scene.
Officers found the second van there, too, and inside them they discovered the looted meat.
Every last item was recovered from the back of the vehicles, the Civil Guard revealed.
Two men were arrested on suspicion of theft and were handed over to the judicial authorities.
Their identities were withheld at the time of reporting.
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