Spain’s million euro wine theft

Spain's wine heist - 8th May 2023

A former beauty queen from Mexico and a Dutch-Romanian man have been handed a four and a half year prison sentence by a Spanish court for stealing over 1.6 million euros worth of wine. The meticulously planned heist took place in October 2021 at the high-end Atrio hotel and restaurant in western Spain.

The couple, Priscila Lara Guevara and Constantín Dumitru, devised the wine theft in great detail, making multiple visits to the Atrio restaurant before Guevara used a fake Swiss passport to make a reservation. On the night of the heist, the couple dined on a lavish 14 course meal before taking a tour of the wine cellar.

At 2am, Guevara called for room service, causing the welcome desk to be unoccupied, during which time Dumitru pinched the keycard to the wine cellar. However, he initially took the wrong card. The couple then attempted to rectify the situation, by ringing room service again, while Dumitru obtained the correct key.

Having piled 45 bottles of wine into bags, including a rare 217 year old Château d’Yquem worth around 350 thousand euros, and stolen four hotel towels, the duo made their escape under the cover of darkness.

After nine months on the run, the pair was arrested attempting to cross the border from Montenegro to Croatia. During the trial, Dumitru pleaded not guilty, with his lawyer arguing that, "forty-five bottles and four towels do not fit in two sports bags and could not be carried so lightly by this man". Guevara remained silent throughout the proceedings.

The pair has been found guilty of aggravated robbery and fined 750 thousand euros in damages, payable to insurers in addition to significant jail time. While the prison sentence will be a major punishment, the couple still has the right to appeal the decision if they so choose.