In $ 1.6 million wine heist, duo caught after 9-month search: Report

• Image Credit: Internet

• Jul 22, 2022 | Kabir Chakraborty

The "meticulously planned" crime allegedly got underway when the woman entered the hotel using a phoney Swiss ID, according to Spain's Police National. After dinner, the couple visited the property's famed wine cellar.

Digital Desk: Detectives on the lookout for two
"skilled thieves" who are suspected of stealing 45 bottles of wine
valued at more than €1.6 million (£1.4 million) from a Spanish restaurant in
October of last year have detained two individuals after a nine-month,
international police investigation that ended in Croatia. A man and a woman reportedly were a couple staying at the Atrio hotel and restaurant in Cáceres,
southwest Spain, and took many pricey bottles of French wine on October 27, 2021.

Authorities claim that the robbery was skillfully planned
and that the thieves had visited the restaurant three times before the incident.
According to media reports, a police statement claimed that the suspects
"displayed a high level of expertise, specialization, and immaculate
planning."

The "meticulously planned" crime allegedly got
underway when the woman entered the hotel using a phoney Swiss ID, according to
Spain's Police National. After dinner, the couple visited the property's famed
wine cellar.

After that, the man hurriedly exited their chamber and
returned to the cellar, according to the police. He walked out with three large
rucksacks, one on his back and two in each hand, one with the bottles he had
hidden and the other two loaded with hotel towels to disguise the bottles. He had
entered using a master key that had already been stolen.

While the man was robbing the cellar, the woman
distracted the workers by ordering dinner to be made even though the kitchen
was locked.

The missing bottles were discovered the following morning
by staff, but the suspects had already departed the area by 5 a.m.

Authorities were unable to locate the perpetrators
because they departed Spain a short time after the crime and travelled via
other European nations.

However, officials apprehended them when they crossed the
border into Croatia from Montenegro at the Karasovi Sutorina border crossing.

The Spanish police commended the "great
teamwork" between local and foreign investigators from organizations like
Interpol.