‘Professional’ thieves steal nearly £100,000 of snails destined for Michelin star eating places
A group of ‘professional and experienced’ thieves made off with almost £100,000 worth of snail meat destined for fancy Michelin star resutaurants across France
Thieves made a quick getaway after nabbing nearly £100,000 worth of snails in France.
The expensive delicacies were destined for some of the country’s finest restaurants.
Stunned snail farmer Jean-Mathieu Dauvergne said 90,000 Euros of stock – his entire annual production – was stolen in the raid.
He was left in a state of “shock” because the haul was enough snails for 10,000 meals and described the theft as a “very tough blow”.
Mr Dauvergne added: “They cut the wire fence, broke open the door with a pickaxe, smashed the motion sensor lighting and then they helped themselves to the cold room.
“It’s very surprising because they stole 450 kilos of snail meat.
“It’s incredible to have stolen so much. It must be for a very well-organised network.
“We are starting to get known and that’s certainly what attracted the crooks.”
The farm in Bouzy, in the Champagne region of eastern France was targeted between last Sunday night and Monday morning.
Mr Dauvergne had been due to deliver the fresh and frozen snails to posh restaurants throughout the region for Christmas.
France has 271 snail farms and his L’Escargot des Grands Crus has one of the highest profiles.
Among his clients is the Michelin-starred Domaine les Crayères in Reims, which serves them in puff pastry.
Commander Rémi Dubois, a police officer based in Épernay, said Dauvergne’s snails were “worth almost as much as champagne”.
He added that the criminals appeared to be “experienced” and “professional”.
