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ARCHIVED - These are the most commonly robbed food items from Spanish supermarkets
Thieves in Spain prefer gourmet products like expensive shellfish and plenty of pricey booze
With grocery prices on the up and up across Spain, it’s little surprise that opportunistic thieves are pilfering the country’s supermarkets of sought-after items they can later sell on at a profit. What is unexpected, though, is that each region has its preferred item for these robbers, but the common dominators remain: the products must be gourmet and expensive, and easy to shift.
A recent study conducted by The Source Tagging Company (STC) looked at the most commonly stolen food and beverage products in each Spanish community, and the preferences range from high-end wines and Iberian cured meats and cheeses to ice-cream.
The most popular loot by region:
Barcelona thieves have expensive taste and opt for cava while Galicians go for the delicacy of octopus. They’re along the same lines as the robbers in Cantabria, who prefer prawns, tuna and other luxury shellfish. Down south in Andalucía, cheese is the product most in demand, while devious folk in Murcia go for olive oil, the price of which has skyrocketed since Russia invaded Ukraine.
Believe it or not, the most coveted product for burglars in the Spanish capital is ice-cream, as is the case in the Valencian Community.
Andalucía: Cheese
Aragon: Select butcher meat
Asturias: Octopus
Balearic Islands: Local spirits
Basque Country: Octopus
Canary Islands: Liqueurs and Canarian wines
Cantabria: Prawns and tuna
Castilla-La Mancha: Cheese
Castilla y Leon: Pork loin
Catalonia: Cava
Ceuta and Melilla: Olive oil
Extremadura: Olive oil
Galicia: Octopus
La Rioja: Chocolate
Madrid: Ice-cream
Murcia: Olive oil
Navarra: Nuts
Valencian Community: Ice-cream
Despite the fact that each community has its preferences, the products that are most stolen throughout Spain are Iberian meat and cheese products, liquors, fish and wine.
According to the experts, there’s actually no set profile for the kind of person that decides to rob a grocery store.
“Theft is not inherent in particular to anyone. Young people, older adults and the elderly steal, regardless of sex or economic condition. They are spread equally between regular customers and professional thieves, but the motivation is different,” STC explained.
The most stolen products in Spain overall
- Gourmet products: Pork loin, speciality cheeses, speciality meats
- Alcohol: Rare wines and local liqueurs
- Sweets: Ice-cream, chocolate, nuts
- Savoury: Olive oil, tuna, fish, shellfish
Image: Pixabay
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