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– The owner of the Relais Château hotel in Burgundy, France has reason enough to moan: the cellar of the five-star hotel has been raided twice in recent days, the Guardian reports, with thieves running away with a total of nearly $ 700,000 worth of fine wines. The latest robbery, which took place early Tuesday, sparked a chase where thieves began throwing bottles of stolen wine at the pursuing police. The bottles were missing, authorities say, and no one was injured. After the escape van crashed into a barrier about 20 miles north of Lyon, the Burgundian burglars reportedly fled on foot. An investigation is underway and the police are looking for at least three suspects.
At the break-in on Tuesday, an alarm alerted the hotel owner to the theft in progress. He jumped in his car and chased the thieves while calling the police for support. Just 24 hours earlier, thieves broke into the same basement unnoticed. The police are investigating whether the incidents are related. Theft of liquor is not uncommon in France: Last month, authorities in Bordeaux arrested 25 people who they believe were part of a ring that stole and sold fine wines and whiskeys, per Wine Spectator. In that case, known as Operation Magnum, police recovered 900 bottles of wine worth $ 6 million. Food and wine reports, in what they called the “seizure of the century.” (Read more crime stories.)