In a daring heist, thieves targeted a wine shop and made off with $500,000 worth of wine by drilling a hole through the store roof.
According to The Guardian, the audacious heist unfolded when a masked individual arrived to Venice, California’s Lincoln Fine Wines in a white pickup truck, lacking a license plate. With meticulous planning, the thief gained entry by cutting a hole in the roof and descending into the store using a rope.
Over the course of four hours, the burglar selectively swiped more than 600 bottles of wine and liquor, with a focus on the store’s priciest and irreplaceable treasures. Notably, the stolen items included a bottle of Chateau Petrus 2016 valued at $4,500 and The Last Drop, an exceedingly rare Scottish whisky with an estimated worth of $6,000.
The store’s owner, Nazmul Haque, expressed deep shock and frustration, lamenting the loss of his hard work and the violation of his business. The burglar exhibited an eerie familiarity with the store’s layout, disabling cameras and sensors in advance and targeting specific high-value items while leaving others untouched.
Despite the setback, Haque and his team have been overwhelmed by the support of the community, with an influx of customers rallying behind the store.