International wine thieves - 8th May 2023

A couple has been sentenced to four and a half years in prison by a Spanish court for robbery. They stole over 1.6 million euros worth of wine from a high-end restaurant in western Spain, in October 2021. They ran off with 45 bottles of wine from the cellar of the Atrio hotel and restaurant. This included a 217 year old Château d'Yquem that was valued at around 350 thousand euros.

The robbery was carefully planned by a former beauty queen from Mexico and a Dutch-Romanian man. They visited the Atrio restaurant multiple times. On this occasion, the woman, Priscila Lara Guevara, checked in with a fake Swiss passport. The couple dined at the restaurant and got a tour of the wine cellar.

On the night of the theft, the couple called for room service at 2am. While the front desk was unoccupied, the man, Constantín Dumitru, stole the keycard. However, they first stole the wrong card. So, Guevara called for room service again and Dumitru returned for the right card. The couple then filled their bags with wine and towels before fleeing before sunrise.

The couple was arrested nine months later at the border from Montenegro to Croatia. During their trial, Dumitru claimed he was not guilty. His lawyer said that, "forty-five bottles and four towels do not fit in two sports bags and could not be carried so lightly by this man". Priscila remained silent during the hearing.

The court found the couple guilty of armed robbery and ordered them to pay 750 thousand euros in damages. However, the couple has the option to appeal the court's decision.