Man who stole 7,000 jam-making hams loses thousands

A man in Huelva in southern Spain was jailed for defrauding his employers out of €520,000 439,000 after he stole and resold 7,000 hams.

The man, who has not been named, stole the jam n from the curing warehouse where he worked for a period of six years from 2007 to 2013. Although he was facing a six-year sentence, he was reduced to 11 months and 29 days because the case took so long to come to trial.

The accused was responsible for the delivery of the jamones and was responsible for them throughout the entire curing process. He then sold them on, using a messenger service to deliver them to his customers.

Huelva is known for its jam n de jabugo, one of only a handful to be granted denominaci n de origen status. Each of these jamones, made from blackfoot pigs fed exclusively on acorns during the last three months of their lives, can sell for more than €500.

More than 100 of these were among the 7,000 stolen by the accused. His wife was convicted on the grounds that she was his accomplice and the two were ordered to repay €529,900 to his former employer.