Couple Arrested For $1.7 Million Spain Wine Heist

A former Mexican beauty queen and her Dutch-Romanian boyfriend were arrested Tuesday in Croatia for stealing nearly $1.7 million worth of wine from a Spanish restaurant.

Forty-five bottles of wine were stolen from the Atrio restaurant and hotel in Caceres on Oct. 27, 2021. One of the vintage wines was reportedly worth over $300,000.

Spanish police said the couple meticulously planned the wine heist. They had traveled throughout Europe while being tracked by Interpol.

The couple was arrested while attempting to enter Croatia from Montenegro.

“The 2 alleged perpetrators of one of the most mediatic robberies of recent years have been arrested After careful planning of the robbery, they stole 45 bottles of wine, valued at 1,648,500 €, at the Atrio restaurant in #Cáceres,” Spanish police said in a tweet Tuesday.

_ÚLTIMA HORA

Detenidos los 2 presuntos autores de uno de los robos más mediáticos de los últimos años

Tras una planificación milimétrica del robo, sustrajeron 45 botellas de vino, valoradas en 1.648.500€, en el restaurante Atrio de #Cáceres pic.twitter.com/19JD1gRhem

— Policía Nacional (@policia) July 19, 2022

The woman reportedly checked into the hotel with a fake Swiss identification card, and wore a wig, sunglasses and a mask at the restaurant. She and her boyfriend later toured the winery.

The woman had asked for a meal while the kitchen was closed, while her boyfriend used a master key to break the wine cellar. He piled wine bottles into a backpack.

Police have not revealed the identities of the couple.

Reports from Spain said the wine has not been recovered.