(Newser)
– The owner of the Relais Château hotel in the Burgundy region has many reasons to complain: the winery of the five-star hotel has been raided twice in the last two days, the Guardian the thieves reportedly came out with a total of wines up to about $ 700,000. The latest robbery, which occurred in the early hours of Tuesday, sparked a car chase during which thieves began throwing bottles of stolen wine at police. The bottles were lost, authorities say, and no one was injured. After the escaped van crashed into a barrier about 20 kilometers north of Lyon, Burgundian thieves reportedly fled on foot. Investigations are underway and police are looking for at least three suspects.
In Tuesday’s robbery, an alarm alerted the hotel owner of the ongoing robbery. He jumped into his vehicle and chased the thieves while calling police to get a backup. Just 24 hours earlier, thieves broke into the same cellar undetected. Police are investigating whether the incidents are related. Alcohol theft is not uncommon in France: last month, Bordeaux authorities arrested 25 people who are said to have been part of a ring to steal and sell quality wines and whiskeys. Wine Spectator. In this case, known as Operation Magnum, police recovered 900 bottles of wine worth $ 6 million, Food and wine reports, in what they called the “prey of the century.” (Read more crime stories.)