Huge booze heist as thieves steal two vehicles carrying 70,000 pints of Guinness
Police say two trucks containing more than 800 50-litre kegs of the famous Irish stout were stolen from a depot in Runcorn, Cheshire. They fear they may be being sold on the black market
Thieves struck on Monday, police said. (Stock photo)(Image: Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Brazen booze bandits have swiped more than 70,000 pints of Guinness from the back of two trailers. Police say two trucks containing more than 800 50-litre kegs of the famous Irish stout were stolen from a depot in Runcorn, Cheshire.
The thieves struck on Monday, August 31, and carried out the large-scale heist worth a total of around £200,000 in a matter of minutes. The kegs, said to hold around 35,000 pints of the iconic beer each, were in two HGV trailers at the depot, police said.
Detectives said a lorry entered the distribution hub at around 7.45pm, connected to a HGV containing around 400 barrels of Guinness before driving off 10 minutes later.
Stout of order(Image: Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Around 90 minutes later, a second lorry entered the site and connected to another trailer. That lorry left after around 18 minutes.
Police probing the thefts have not released CCTV footage and have appealed for information from the public.
The trailers are described as white tri-axle curtain side trailers with GXO company branding on curtains and rear doors.
Both HGVs were believed to have been driven by men. The first man is described as white with a short dark beard and wearing a beanie hat and the second believed to be wearing a cap.
Thieves struck at the depot in Runcorn, Cheshire(Image: Google Maps)
Detective Sergeant McClatchy of Cheshire Police said: “It is famously said that “Guinness is good for you”, but that is only the case when it has been bought and paid for.
“It is with this in mind that we have wasted no time in launching enquires to identify those responsible for the theft of £115,000 worth Guinness and the two trailers that housed the barrels – we will settle for nothing less than the full recovery of all the items stolen.
“As part of our investigation into fully established what has occurred, we are now appealing to anyone who has any information in relation to the theft to please come forward and speak to officers.
“We would also ask any motorists who were driving in the area at the time of either of the incidents to please review any dashcam footage to see if you have captured anything that could aid our investigation.”
