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Police catch suspected spirits thieves hiding in haystack
Six people have been arrested on suspicion of stealing approximately £53,000 (US$66,600) worth of spirits from Sloemotion Distillery.
Yorkshire Police chased an HGV, travelling in close proximity with a car, down the A46 after a member of the public reported a group of people breaking through the gates of a business near Barton-Le-Willows.
Police were able to intersect the vehicles, and four occupants inside the car were detained.
Two people in the HGV got out of the vehicle while it was still in motion, ran across live traffic lanes and into fields.
A police dog, Rhun, and his officer tracked the two suspects from the HGV for an hour, across approximately 7km, and found them hiding in a haystack.
All six people from West Yorkshire – two in their 20s, three in their 30s, and one in his 50s – were arrested on suspicion of burglary.
Shortly after the arrests, Sloemotion Distillery, based in York in the UK, reported a break in. Access had been gained through the roof, and approximately 7,000 bottles were taken from the distillery, including Kin Toffee Vodka, Sloemotion liqueurs, and Sloe Gin.
Yorkshire Police said in a statement: “The HGV came to a slow natural stop in the live lane and as traffic was light thankfully it didn’t cause any damage. Inside, was over £50,000 of gin which is suspected stolen. A gin distillery in Barton-Le-Willows contacted us shortly afterwards to report a break in via the roof.
“In total, six people from the West Yorkshire area, two aged in their 20s, three aged in their 30s and one in his 50s, were arrested on suspicion of burglary. They all currently remain in police custody.”
In a statement, Sloemotion Distillery said it was working to ensure the break in would not affect Christmas supplies: “We are so pleased that no one was hurt during the incident and will do everything we can to ensure that supply will not affect our customers.
“Our team have already ensured that the important Christmas markets in York, Manchester and Winchester continue without disruption.”
Last week, in unrelated news, two trucks containing approximately US$1 million worth of Santo Tequila were stolen after crossing the US-Mexico border.
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