Hollywood can’t come up with some stories any better than that. Like the one that a Mexican ex-beauty queen is now delivering. Priscila Lara G. stole millions of dollars in treasures with her partner on a spree of thieves in Spain. However, they did not steal money, diamonds or a painting by an old master, but outrageously expensive wines. After that, the gangster couple fled like Bonnie and Clyde, scurried from country to country and lived undisturbed for months. But now the trap snapped shut. There is no trace of the loot.
At the end of October, Priscila G. presented a fake passport to the renowned bijou in the Spanish city of Cáceres and checked in – disguised beyond recognition in a wig, sunglasses and a face mask. In the evening, she and her companion had dinner in the two-star Atrio restaurant there, after which they toured the exclusive wine cellar before retiring to the night. This is the reconstruction of the course of events. What happened next is not entirely clear.
It is known that the Mexican woman later ordered food to her room. A diversion to keep the servants away from the wine cellar? At least that’s what the police think. In the meantime, her partner is said to have cleared this one out. There is talk of 45 precious bottles. The couple is said to have carried them out of the hotel unnoticed, wrapped in towels in backpacks. José Polo, co-owner of the Atrio, described the theft as “like something out of a movie”. How the thief managed to defeat the hotel’s security measures has so far been speculation. According to information from the Spanish police, it is suspected that he gained access “either with a copy of the key card or by stealing a card”. According to “El País”, the value of the stolen wine is estimated at a total of 1.25 million pounds, i.e. around 1.45 million euros. The stolen bottle of Château d’Yquem alone, a vintage white wine from 1806, is said to be worth more than 350,000 euros. The bottle is considered non-replaceable.
For weeks after the theft, the local police searched for clues to the perpetrators, documents and surveillance videos were viewed. Until she finally met an old acquaintance. The criminal duo’s husband had previously been arrested twice for attempting to steal expensive wines from gourmet shops in Madrid. He had also been caught in a duty-free shop in Geneva. In the meantime, the gangster couple had long since left, traveling from Spain to Romania, Montenegro and finally to Croatia. In order to locate them, the Spanish police worked together with their colleagues in the Netherlands, Romania and Croatia, even Interpol was involved search involved. Still, it took nine months before the handcuffs finally snapped shut. The couple is now to be extradited to Spain. The expensive wine is still missing.
Quelle: Telegraph, El Financiero, NDTV, Dailymail
