A ham fisted thief leaves a trail of fat

A thief, who stole seven legs of expensive Iberico jamon, was easily traced by the trail of fat he left on the ground, leading straight to his front door. The ham-fisted thief dragged the cumbersome legs from the tapas bar where he stole them, leaving a sticky trail, making life easy for the owners trying to locate him. 

The family run tapas bar in Sanlucar de Barrameda near Cadiz was forced open on February 22.  The thief stole the cash till with €500 inside, the TV, and vast quantities of ham, which were hanging above the bar worth around €120 each. 

Domingo Infante, 34, the owner of the bar, spoke to police while his wife Cristina, 36, and mother-in-law Maria, 68, spotted a fatty track on the pavement and followed it until it led right to the front door of a nearby house. 

Officers gained entry to the home and found two of the legs of ham inside along with the empty cash till and TV. The suspect lived at home with his parents.

The cured meat has now been taken to the police station along with the other valuables while detectives are still searching for the five missing legs which are thought to have been passed on to accomplices. 

The bar owner said: “We didn’t know whether to laugh or cry yesterday. It’s like something out of a silly film.

I’ve never imagined my wife and mother-in-law would turn out to be the detectives who solved this.