The Spanish authorities announced this Friday the arrest of sixteen people accused of having stolen, near Madrid, the gigantic quantity of 17.5 tons of olives from which they later extracted oil.
The Civil Guard said in a statement that it had arrested 16 people and investigated another 5 for the “theft of more than 17.5 tons of olives in the canton of Las Vegas,” southeast of Madrid. Indicted for theft and fraud, the suspects range in age from 20 to 57.
The olive tree, called “green gold” in the country, is one of the main agricultural assets of Spain, which is the world’s leading producer of oil.
A complaint filed after the disappearance of 8.4 tons of olives
The investigation by the Spanish authorities began in January after a farmer reported the theft of 8.4 tons of olives, which echoed other thefts of “significant quantities” of olives in the same area, the Civil Guard detailed. .
After having arrested five people in broad daylight who were transporting 140 kg of olives in their vehicle, without being able to provide evidence of their origin, the Civil Guard raided two oil mills in the regions of Toledo and Guadalajara, in the center of the country, and their owners were arrested.
There they found documents relating to the exchange of these 17.5 tons of olives and barrels containing more than 6,000 liters of oil.
Source: BFM TV
