On Monday, a Spanish court jailed a couple for stealing 45 bottles of wine worth over 1.6 million euros from a hotel restaurant. The couple had 'meticulously planned' the heist, visiting the restaurant three times to prepare the raid, Spain's National Police said in a statement when the pair were arrested.
The couple stole a bottle of Chateau D'Yquem 1806 worth 350,000 euros among the wines stolen from the Atrio hotel in Caceres in southwest Spain in October 2021 in the heist that made global headlines.
Following their convictions for burglary with forced entry, the Caceres court sentenced the woman to four years in prison and the male to four and a half years. The court also mandated that the two, who were detained in Croatia in July 2022, pay the hotel 753,454 euros in damages.
The woman, who according to Spanish press reports is a former Mexican beauty queen, checked into the hotel using a fake Swiss passport, the court said. While, the man reportedly has Romanian and Dutch citizenship.
The 'Heist'
After dining in the Michelin three-star restaurant of the hotel, the pair were given a tour of the Atrio's renowned wine cellar before they retired to their room.
At 2 am the woman called the reception and asked the "sole employee" who was working at the time to make her a salad, according to the court ruling.
The employee at first denied the request because he was alone and because the couple had eaten a 14-course tasting menu but he ended up agreeing because she kept insisting.
While the employee was preparing the salad, the man slipped into reception and stole an electronic key which he thought would gain entry to the wine cellar but it was the wrong one.
From outside the wine cellar the man called his partner and told her once again to distract the receptionist, so she requested a dessert.
"The accused returned to the reception, and from a box he took master key number 27, which he used to open the wine cellar, from where he took 45 bottles of wine," the court said.
The man carried the bottles to his room in a rucksack and two large bags before the receptionist returned to his post.
