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Cops End a Chase Involving a Beauty Queen, a Fake Identity, and $1.7 Million Worth of Wine

A former Mexican beauty queen and a Romanian-Dutch man sent detectives on a nine-month chase through Europe.

It was, according to Spanish media, “the theft of the century.” A heist involving wine, a nine-month international pursuit, and a former beauty queen came to an end after detectives arrested two suspects in Croatia. As Whiskey Raiders reported, authorities captured a Romanian-Dutch man and a former Mexican beauty queen whom they believe stole 45 bottles of wine worth $1.7 million from a Michelin-starred hotel restaurant in Spain. To pull off the heist, the beauty queen allegedly used a fraudulent Swiss identity document to check into the hotel, after which the couple ate at the restaurant. They allegedly toured the wine cellar before returning to their room, only to leave again later that evening. As the man allegedly entered the wine cellar using a stolen key, his partner distracted the staff. The couple reportedly left the hotel early the next morning, leaving no forensic traces.