The three criminals, “well known to the judicial services”, attempted to steal wines from Château Cheval Blanc and Château Le Gay on the night of Thursday to Friday. They were arrested in Pomerol, a case of Pétrus in their hands, thanks to the gendarmerie’s “wine plan”.
Le Figaro Bordeaux
Three men were arrested on the Château Le Gay estate, a prestigious wine estate located in Pomerol, on the night of Thursday to Friday around half past midnight. An hour earlier, they had tried to enter the equally noble Château Cheval Blanc, located less than two kilometers away, on the lands of Saint Emilion. The two wine estates filed a complaint and joined the case as civil parties. “Very well known to the services”the three thugs attempted to steal a case of Château Pétrus – 2019 vintage – kept in the cellars of Château Le Gay.
“Stealing Petrus is not something you can improvise. You have to know who to resell this traced merchandise to. They are regulars.”analyzes a source close to the investigation. And for good reason: the 6 bottles that were the object of the bandits’ covetousness were worth 4,500 euros each. Each bottle of this great Bordeaux vintage is therefore numbered to prevent theft and fraudulent copies.
“The great castles are well protected”
“When you make wine, you always have to be interested in what your neighbors are doing. It was a private box.”specifies to the Figaro Château Le Gay to justify its presence in its cellars. Victim of a burglary for the third time since 2019, the appellation in Pomerol has equipped itself with an extremely powerful security system to prevent them.
“Most of the big castles are extremely well protected.”reveals our source, “We have alarms that went off 10 seconds after the three thieves broke in. Within a minute the police were notified and managed to catch the three thieves in the act, with the cash register in their hands, as they were leaving our house.”
Security reinforced by the gendarmerie
Great efficiency made possible by the “wine plan”, whose 20 measures were launched in September 2023 by the prefect of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Étienne Guyot, in collaboration with the commander of the gendarmerie in the Region, General Samuel Dubuis. A service note taken “very seriously” to the Libourne gendarmerie, whose territory is dotted with vineyards. Thanks to the collaboration of the squadron leader of the citizen reserve Éric Julien, also a winegrower, the gendarmes of Libourne were trained in “seasonality” wine-growing and its challenges.
The military also learned to better understand the surrounding wine estates – both famous and unknown – in order to be alerted more effectively. The result: the head of security at Cheval à Blanc was able to notify the contact officer by SMS during the attempted burglary on Thursday evening. At Château Le Gay, these prior privileged contacts allowed the military to act effectively. “The team that intervened knew the area, which allowed them to split up to cover the ground and trap the thieves.”describes a source close to the case.
Repeat offenders
Well known to the police, the three individuals arrested that evening were aged between 32 and 34. “Used to” judicial arcana, one of them is mentioned in more than ten legal proceedings.
The three men are being prosecuted for this attempted robbery at Cheval Blanc and this robbery at Château Le Gay, for which the damage amounted to 7,000 euros for the break-in damage and 24,000 euros for the bottles of wine. The defendants admitted the facts in police custody before being presented for immediate appearance on Monday. They exercised their right to obtain a delay to prepare their defense and will therefore be tried on November 4.
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