CCTV catches $1.1m vodka heist on camera

A gang of thieves has been caught on camera stealing 752 cases of vodka worth over US$1.1 million from a customs warehouse in Miami, Florida.

A group of men were caught by CCTV cameras arriving and leaving the warehouse on 22 June several times over the course of five hours in three different vehicles, including a Mercedes-Benz, a van and a truck.

The men were caught by the cameras loading the vans with several boxes containing Spirits of the Tsars Golden Vodka, a Ukrainian-made vodka that features 24-carat gold on its label that retails for between US$250 in the off-trade and $1,200 in the on-trade.

They gained access to the warehouse, which contained a number of products waiting to clear customs, by punching a hole in the wall directly to the area the vodka was stored, prompting company president Mark Owens to speculate that the group was targeting the Spirits of the Tsars Golden Vodka.

“They successfully broke a hole in the wall right where the vodka was stored and didn’t set off any alarms, so it would appear that they knew where the vodka was and where the alarms were,” he told NBC Miami.

“It appears that they showed up and busted a hole in the wall and then saw the amount of the product and decided they needed a bigger truck.”

The authorities are hunting the gang and are now offering a US$5,000 cash reward to anyone coming forward with information that will lead to the arrest of those responsible.

Watch the CCTV footage of the heist below.