377 stolen beehives valued at more than €60,000

Two people have been arrested and warrants have been issued against two others after 377 stolen beehives valued at more than €60,000 were discovered at an illegal honey farm near Cúllar (Granada) on the 17th October.

The hives had been stolen from seven bee farms in Villacastín (Segovia), Navas de San Antonio (Segovia), Honrubia (Cuenca), Puerto Lumbreras (Murcia) and Orihuela (Alicante).

Only six farmers reported the theft of their hives and as police suspected that the seventh may have been involved, they placed him under surveillance, eventually catching him and a second man at the illegal farm just before midnight last Monday.

Six containers each filled with 350 litres of honey were seized from a building near to where the stolen hives had been set up, and it later came to light that at least 21,000 litres of product had been sold to an establishment in Valencia without any kind of health certification. Following the search, arrest warrants for two other individuals were issued that are still pending execution.