THE WORLD

Updated Thursday, March 7, 2024-2:00 p.m.

In all cities and towns, robberies and petty thefts occur in supermarkets.

There are 'usual suspects' like ham, alcoholic beverages or tuna, but a new guest has entered the party,

olive oil

.

This is confirmed by the

III Report on thefts in Spanish supermarkets

carried out by the anti-theft systems company STC.

The annual report analyzes the most stolen products in the supermarkets of each autonomous community and it is worth noting that oil is already king in eight communities, Andalusia, Aragon, Castilla La-Mancha, Catalonia, Madid, Valencian Community, Extremadura and the Balearic Islands.

So much so that it is becoming common to see jugs and one-liter bottles of oil protected by individual alarms in most stores.

"In 2023, oil was not in the top, it was only mentioned as a differential product in two autonomous communities. Now it is the main problem in 8 of the communities. As a differential fact with respect to other categories of the TOP, in this case it is not "This is a brand theft. Oil from recognized brands and private labels is stolen equally," explains

Salvador Cañones (STC)

.

Several bottles of oil in a supermarket in Madrid. VÍCTOR CASADOEM

The other star product for crooks is alcoholic beverages.

Wines and spirits are the most stolen product in supermarkets in eight other communities, the Canary Islands, Galicia, the Basque Country, Murcia, Asturias, Cantabria, Navarra and Castilla y León.

For its part, in La Rioja the most stolen are Iberian products and in Ceuta and Melilla shaving products.

The emergence of oil has ousted Iberian fish from second place in 2024, second in the top five in 2023, and has removed tuna and bonito from the top of the ranking.

Other curious data revealed by the study are those of the most stolen local products in the supermarkets of each autonomous community.

In

Aragon,

native meats are the most stolen, while wedge cheese is the favorite for Castilian Leonese and Andalusian people.

Catalonia

remains the only place where cockles and cava continue to disappear.

On the islands, both in the

Balearic Islands

and in the

Canary Islands

, thieves focus on gourmet products and at the pick-up points they take their DO cheeses and native liquors, and pickles and smoked products are on the list of the most stolen products in communities as diverse as

Navarra. and Ceuta and Melilla

.