Off-licences warned of thief with expensive taste in wines

Off-licences in Dublin, Meath and Kildare have been warned to be on the look-out for a thief or thieves with expensive tastes in champagne and wines.

In a notice headed "Champagne Thieves in Leinster Area" the National Off-Licence Association of Ireland (NoffLA) said that recently a person or group of people had been targeting off-licences in order to steal expensive wines or champagnes.

It gave an account of the experience of a member on the north side of Dublin, who wrote "over the period of December/January, we began to notice inaccuracies in our stocks of fine wines and champagnes. We initiated a series of weekly stock-takes to monitor these areas and immediately realised we had a problem.

"In one week alone we were down five bottles of champagne, ranging in price from €36 to €80. After thoroughly going through our CCTV footage we spotted the culprit - a relatively respectable looking man in his mid-30s.

"He would enter the store and browse for a while. He would then pick up a bottle or two of champagne or fine wine and continue to browse.On ensuring that all counter staff were busy he would place the bottles into the inside pockets of his jacket. He would pretend to be taking a mobile call while he leaves the shop. He was approximately five feet, nine inches with dark hair and wore a ¾ length wax jacket. He seemed to know what he was looking for."

The NoffLA "News Flash - We Urge All Our Members to be Aware" -, warned them "to review the security of your champagne and fine wines and to contact NoffLA and the Garda if you have a similar problem." It also supplied a photograph of the alleged culprit.