Romanian, who also has Dutch citizenship, Constantin Dumitru and his partner Priscilla Guevara, a participant in the Miss Mexico pageant, were sentenced by a Spanish court to four years in prison and payment of more than 750,000 euros in compensation for their involvement in the theft. 45 bottles of noble wine, which is considered a real “jewel”, from a hotel in Cáceres. The loot – including the unique wine in the world – was worth 1.6 million euros, reports El Pais.

The Romanian is 49 years old, and his partner Priscilla Guevara is 28 years old.

How much was the most expensive stolen wine?

The robbery happened early in the morning on October 27, 2021. Both carefully organized the operation, having thoroughly studied the area beforehand and visiting the Atrio Hotel in Cáceres at least three times.

While the young woman distracted the receptionist with persistent requests for room service, her accomplice stole the key to the wine cellar of the hotel restaurant and stole 45 bottles of wine from there, which she placed in a backpack and two large bags.

The value of the wine was 1.6 million euros. The most expensive, Chateau d’Yquem of 1806, had an à la carte price of 350,000 euros, being a unique specimen in the world.

Judges found both guilty of aggravated theft, an offense for which they were sentenced to prison and ordered to pay joint compensation of €753,454 to the restaurant.

The Romanian, who has an “extensive criminal record,” according to El Pais, was sentenced to four years and six months in prison, and his accomplice to four years. Convicted persons can appeal the decision.

Robbery like in the movies

According to the facts of the case, the two stalked the restaurant over the summer to plan the robbery. After studying the area, they decided that the woman should stay at the Atrio Hotel in Cáceres on October 26, 2021. She was left with a fake Swiss passport and an empty backpack.

That same evening, Konstantin Dumitru came for dinner and stayed with her without registering. After a hearty dinner, they went up to the room and there the theater began. Priscilla Guevara began calling the front desk in the middle of the night, starting at 2:10 a.m. local time, asking for a salad and repeatedly asking how long it would take.

The front desk clerk initially refused to handle the order because he was alone, unable to leave his post, and was also surprised by the request since the customer was dining on the 14-course tasting menu.

Finally, the employee gave up and prepared a salad, leaving the reception desk free for 20 minutes. It was enough for Dumitr to steal from a box what he thought was an electronic card for opening a winery. He made a mistake and couldn’t open the door, so he had his partner distract the Atrio employee again. Priscilla Guevara started asking for dessert. She was so persistent that the worker agreed to bring her some fruit.

Dumitru returned to the reception desk and took the key number 27 from the box, which he used to open the cellar and reach the tasting room, where he took 45 bottles of wine, which he put in a backpack and two large bags. He worked quickly, managing to get up to the room before the employee returned to reception.

Around 5:00 a.m., the two left the hotel in a hurry, the man with a backpack on his back and two bags containing bottles, between which he placed four towels from the bathroom of the hotel room so as not to bump into each other.

CCTV footage captured Konstantin Dumitra and the woman on the day of the robbery, and then in a red Mercedes.

How the Romanian and his girlfriend were caught

Nine months after the robbery, Dumitra and Guevara were arrested while crossing the Albanian-Croatian border in their car.

At the trial, 16 witnesses and four experts were called, who presented evidence such as DNA from biological remains found in the bathroom where they lived and which matched the data of the defendants; surveillance footage and geolocation of the phones that placed them at the hotel on the night of the events.

As for the wine, there are no traces, it is not known what happened to it, writes El Pais.

The Atrio restaurant in Extremadura, run by chef Toño Pérez and his partner Jose Polo, has already settled with the insurer for the theft of what they called “45 jewels”. The wine collection at Atrio in Cáceres, western Spain, is considered one of the best in the country, with nearly 40,000 bottles stored in the cellar of the two-Michelin-starred restaurant. (Source: News.ro)