Thirty people have been accused of stealing 133 tons of chicken and selling them in Cuba amid economic turmoil and food shortages in the country.
The thieves seized poultry stored in 1,660 boxes from a government facility in the capital, Havana, and used sales money to buy products including refrigerators, televisions, air conditioners and laptops.
The chickens were to be distributed to citizens under the communist-run island's food ration book system – implemented more than 60 years after Fidel Castro's revolution – which provides subsidized food and is an integral part of daily Cuban life.
An official at state food distribution company Copmar said the stolen quantity was equivalent to a monthly quota of chicken for a medium-sized province at current distribution rates.
Rationing was introduced after Fidel Castro's revolution in 1959. Image: Reuters
The defendants included IT workers and shift leaders at the factory, as well as security guards and strangers not directly involved in the company.
The suspects could face up to 20 years in prison if found guilty.
Authorities have not said exactly when the theft occurred, but it likely occurred between midnight and 2 a.m. when temperature changes were detected at the storage facility.
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Footage showed trucks transporting chickens from the site.
Cuba It imports most of the food and fuel it consumes, but revenues have fallen in the wake of the coronavirus, exacerbated by tough US sanctions and a slump in tourism, once a mainstay of the country's economy.
The government continues to ration a basket of basic commodities including rice, beans, sugar and proteins, such as pork, chicken, beef and fish.
Crime has increased since the end of the pandemic, although reports of large-scale thefts like this remain rare on the Caribbean island.
