Couple who stole wine worth over million Euro jailed in Spain

Madrid: A Spanish court on Monday jailed a couple who had stolen expensive wine from a hotel where they were staying in southwest Spain in October 2021.

The heist, widely reported by media around the world, saw the couple stealing 45 bottles of wine which included a bottle of Chateau D'Yquem 1806 worth 350,000 euros, totally valuing over 1.6 million euros ($1.7 million), according to news agency AFP.

After finding them guilty, the court in Caceres sentenced the woman, who is a former Mexican beauty queen, to four years in jail.

The man, who has Romanian and Dutch citizenship, got four and a half years term in what the police said "meticulously planned" theft.

The couple are ordered to pay a compensation of 753,454 euros to the hotel. Almost nine months after the heist the couple were arrested in July 2022 in Croatia.

The woman checked into the Atrio hotel using a fake Swiss passport and the couple dined at the restaurant of the three-star hotel.

Before they retired to their room, the couple was given a tour of the hotel’s renowned wine cellar.

At 2 am the woman made a call to the reception asking the sole employee working at the time to make her a salad.

At first the employee declined to make the salad saying he was alone but finally ended up agreeing after she kept insisted.

The couple retired to their room having already eaten a 14-course tasting menu.

As the employee was making salad the man stole an electronic key from the reception and gained entry to wine cellar.

But the key had was a wrong one and hence he called to the lady from the cellar to distract the receptionist again.

She requested the reception to rustle up a desert.

The accused returned to reception to take the master key and took 45 bottles of wine from the cellar, the court said.

He carried the bottles in a rucksack and two large bags to his room before the receptionist returned.

The couple reportedly visited the restaurant three times to prepare the raid, Spain's National Police previously said.