THE NATIONAL POLICE this week arrested three men in Madrid on suspicion of stealing €25,000 worth of wine from shops in the city’s upscale Salamanca district.
Investigations began back in June of last year, after a theft was reported. Police soon found that similar cases had been denounced by other establishments.
Among the stolen bottles were Bordeaux wines from Chateaux Pétrus, one of which had a price tag of €6,700.
According to Spanish daily El Español, the suspects would first visit the stores in question to ask questions about high-priced wines, before later returning to steal them.
In some cases they would force open display cases and in others they would hide the bottles in their clothing.
The arrests come after another high-profile case in Spain involving stolen wines.
In early March, a former Mexican beauty queen and her partner were sentenced to four years in prison for stealing 45 bottles of wine worth an estimated €1.6 million from a hotel in the Spanish province of Caceres.
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