A Los Angeles–area wine shop has fallen victim to a wine-thirsty thief. On June 29, security cameras at Venice’s Lincoln Fine Wines captured footage of a dark-clad figure with a mask, hood and baseball cap parking an unlicensed pickup truck before embarking on a Mission Impossible-inspired burglary, in which the bandit cut a hole in the ceiling of the Venice wine shop, descending into the store’s temperature-controlled cellar and looting more than $600,000 worth of inventory before tripping an alarm and disappearing into the night.
According to store manager Nick Martinelle, Lincoln Fine Wines owner Nazmul Haque had been collecting the now-pilfered wines for over a decade, many of which he considers irreplaceable. “We are absolutely devasted by this heinous theft,” said Martinelle, noting that in an effort to try and nab the crooks, they have shared a list of missing bottles with auction houses and professional buyers, so that they may be on the lookout for potential resale of the cherished wines. Lincoln Fine Wines has also offered a reward of up to $10,000 to anyone who can help the Los Angeles Police Department identify the culprit.
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