Escape for months
Wine cellar instead of bank robbery – beauty queen is said to have stolen wines worth millions
The pair of thieves are said to have stolen wine worth almost one and a half million euros from the Atrio restaurant (symbol image)
© industryview / Getty Images
In Spain, the suspected pair of thieves emptied a wine cellar and stole liquid treasures worth millions. After that they fled across Europe. It took nine months before the handcuffs could be put on.
Hollywood couldn’t come up with some stories any better. Like the one that a Mexican ex-beauty queen is now delivering. Priscila Lara G. and her partner stole millions of dollars in treasures during a thief spree in Spain. However, they did not steal money, diamonds or a painting by an old master, but outrageously expensive wines. After that, the gangster couple fled like Bonnie and Clyde, scurried from country to country and lived undisturbed for months. But now the trap snapped shut. There is no trace of the loot.
At the end of October, Priscila G. presented a fake passport to the renowned Bijou in the Spanish city of Cáceres and checked in – disguised beyond recognition in a wig, sunglasses and a face mask. In the evening, she and her companion had dinner at the two-star restaurant Atrio there, after which they toured the exclusive wine cellar before retiring to the night. This is the reconstruction of the course of events. What happened next is not entirely clear.
Removed stolen wine in backpacks
It is known that the Mexican woman later ordered food to her room. A diversion to keep the servants away from the wine cellar? At least that’s what the police think. In the meantime, her partner is said to have cleared this one out. There is talk of 45 precious bottles. The couple is said to have carried them out of the hotel unnoticed, wrapped in towels in backpacks. José Polo, co-owner of the Atrio, described the theft as “like something out of a movie”.
How the thief managed to undermine the hotel’s security measures has so far been speculation. According to information from the Spanish police, it is suspected that he gained access “either with a copy of the key card or by stealing a card”. According to “El País”, the value of the stolen wine is estimated at a total of 1.25 million pounds, i.e. around 1.45 million euros. The stolen bottle of Château d’Yquem alone, a vintage white wine from 1806, is said to be worth more than 350,000 euros. The bottle is considered non-replaceable.
Even Interpol was looking for the gangster couple
For weeks after the theft, the local police searched for clues to the perpetrators, documents and surveillance videos were viewed. Until she finally met an old acquaintance. The criminal duo’s husband had previously been arrested twice for attempting to steal expensive wines from gourmet shops in Madrid. He had also been caught in a duty-free shop in Geneva. In the meantime, the gangster couple had long since left, traveling from Spain to Romania, Montenegro and finally to Croatia.
To locate them, the Spanish police worked with their colleagues in the Netherlands, Romania and Croatia, and even Interpol was involved in the search. Still, it took nine months for the handcuffs to finally snap shut. The couple is now to be extradited to Spain. The expensive wine is still missing.
Source: telegraph, El Financiero, NDTV, dailymail