Thieves Found 'Collecting Olives in Flagrante'

It's olive harvest season in Spain—but not everybody harvesting the olives has permission to do so. The country's Guardia Civil says it caught seven people this week who were trying to steal half a ton of olives near a town in Seville province. In a statement, the force said it found the group "collecting olives in flagrante." It said it arrested a woman and the team of six workers she was overseeing, El Mundo reports. The force said it seized around 1,000 pounds of manzanilla olives, which had already been packed and loaded onto vehicles, and returned them to their rightful owner, the Guardian reports.

The Guardia Civil said officers also seized forged cargo documents. The Guardian notes that olives and olive oil have long been a target for thieves. Criminal activity has been rising along with prices. Heat waves and other extreme weather have hit olive production across Europe hard in recent years. In Spain, the average cost of a bottle of high-quality olive oil is almost triple what it was four years ago. The Guardia Civil said that in Seville province alone last year, " 129 people were investigated or arrested for offences including the theft of olives, possessing false paperwork, fraud, and other crimes related to the harvesting of olives." (More Spain stories.)