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Woman arrested in Spanish winery intruder case

A Spanish winery vandalism case first reported by the drinks business in February has now seen a woman arrested and bailed. 

The case, which saw high-valued wines worth more than €2.5 million being destroyed, appears now to have progressed with the Guardia Civil arresting a woman related to the incident.

The woman is said to have sought revenge after being dismissed from the winery, according to recent reports, and is now out on bail.

Intruder

According to reports in February by db, an intruder broke into the Cepa 21 winery in Castrillo de Duero, Valladolid, Spain, and proceed to open the vats, pouring 60,000 litres of liquid away.

The president of Cepa 21, José Moro, told La Vanguardia that he was “bittersweet” after the arrest, although he was also relieved about the progressing of the case, but could not understand “how such a sacrilege could have been committed”.

He told the publication that the spilled wine could not be enjoyed again and that the company had also suffered economically from the situation.

Footage

Security footage released by the producer earlier in the year showed an unidentified person running between large vats and turning the taps, releasing the tens of thousands of litres of fermenting liquid onto the winery floor.

The vandalism, which occurred on 18 February, saw a masked person enter the winery at 4.30am and open the values of five stainless steel tanks.

A spokesperson for the winery in February told the BBC that the two most expensive varieties produced by the company, its Horcajo and Malabrigo brands, were released from the vats in less than a minute, and they believed as a result that the intruder was familiar with both the estate and its grounds.

At the time Moro also told Spanish broadcaster TVE that the intruder didn’t steal anything and it appeared the sole purpose was to cause damage.

He said: “It’s a case of doing harm for the sake of doing harm, by someone who can’t be very balanced, hasn’t got much common sense and is acting out of hatred.”

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