A ham factory employee has been ordered to pay back €520,000 for stealing Iberian ham joints from a Huelva Province warehouse between 2007 and 2013.

His wife conspired with him to sell off the looted ham and has to pay half the stolen sum as compensation to the Jabugo-based company.

The ex-warehouse manager was also given a prison sentence of over 11 months, which he will not have to serve as it was a first offence.

Prosecutors wanted six years behind bars but the massive delay in bringing the case to trial led to the reduction of the jail term.

The man was a ‘trusted’ employee who logged the hams in and out of the facility as they were brought in to go through the ‘curing’ process at the factory.

Over six years, he stole 7,000 ham joints which were sold to third party customers.

The ham shoulders were delivered to clients via parcel companies.

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