Spanish Thieves Caught with 2 Cars Full of Oranges

Would we say… caught orange-handed?

By Ethan L. Johns
February 01, 2018

Image: Emergencias Sevilla/Twitter

Talking yourself out of a speeding ticket is unlikely, but hey, it could happen once in a blue moon. Trying to explain the 8,818 pounds of loose fruit in your backseat that you don’t have a purchase receipt for, however, is a different story.

Local police officers east of Seville, Spain, became suspicious in January after a three-car caravan started driving erratically. As though spooked at the sight of police, the vehicles fled down a dirt road before two of them were successfully stopped by the police. Upon inspecting the vehicles—one car and one van—the officers found them to be jam-packed with oranges.

Or should we say… marmalade-packed…?

Loose oranges spilled from the rear doors of the car, while the van contained bags on bags on bags of the citrus fruit.

The five individuals in the cars could not produce a consistent story as the the origins of the oranges, nor could they furnish a purchase receipt. Because of this—and because no family of five needs, for any reason, that much vitamin C—they were eventually charged with the theft of 4,000 kilograms (8,818 pounds) of oranges. Oranges that were later found to have been stolen from a warehouse in Carmona.

All that orange stealing sounds like hard work. Such a “pithy” that the fruits of their labor will have to be enjoyed in a prison cell. Then again, that’s what they get for being a bunch of bad apples.

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About Ethan L. Johns

Ethan is the Food News Writer at Genius Kitchen. An expert on the Parisian bistrot, he likes bitters and salted butters, and is no fan of dessert unless it's made with fruit. His hobbies include reading up on the history of borscht and attempting to roll perfect couscous by hand. Twits & Instagram @EthanLJohns