Lyon, France - A French truffle grower has been detained on charges of shooting dead a man he believed had stolen some of his prized fungi.
A court in Valence, southern France, ordered 32-year-old Laurent Rambaud to be held in custody and placed under judicial investigation for the fatal shooting of an intruder at his truffle plot.
The suspected thief was shot in the leg and the head, according to investigators.
About 200 fellow-growers protested outside the court during Rambaud's appearance. A day earlier, 250 people marched through his home village in a show of support for the farmer.
Growers in the theft-prone industry said the killing came as little surprise, noting that farmers devoted years of hard work before their plantations yielded any of the mysterious underground fungi, which can fetch €800-€1000 (R7000-R9000) a kilogram.
Truffle grower Didier Chabert, from a nearby village, said: “We thought that this would happen. We knew that one day there would be a tragedy.”
The subtle nutty taste of truffles makes them an exclusive and expensive delicacy at top restaurants around the world. - Reuters