Thieves Steal 20k Bottles of Gin, Bourbon, Rum & Fireball from Train Yard

Move over Pappy Van Winkle, we have a new alcohol heist to solve and the police are asking the public for help. Though the stolen alcohol was nowhere near as rare, this was a much larger heist that happened over several days.

A dozen trains loaded with thousands of bottles of gin, bourbon, whiskey and Fireball (complete list below) were broken into and cases upon cases of branded alcohol were stolen. The West Midlands Police in Walsall, England say approximately £350k worth of alcohol was stolen from a freight yard.

They are asking if anyone knows someone returning home with an “unusual amount of alcohol” to please contact them.

Police reported that thieves broke into the freight yard on Marybrook Road, Brownhills sometime after 5.30pm on November 19, 2016 and left around 3.00am on November 21, 2016. Twelve curtain sided trailers were slashed and numerous cases of branded alcohol were stolen and loaded into three vehicles. Police are looking for a white Nissan Juke, a white transit style van with a metal ladder on the offside rear door and a white box-type van with blue curtains and a tail lift. The vehicles left the yard a number of times to offload stolen alcohol into waiting cars then returned to reload.

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The West Midlands Police is Asking for Help

Can anybody offer any information on who was involved in the theft?
Do you know where the alcohol was taken initially and then afterwards
Do you know where the alcohol was stored?
Do you know who the alcohol has been sold to?
Who owns the vehicles involved in the offence?
Does anyone recall somebody they live with returning home after 3.00am on Sunday, November 21 either very wet (as it had been raining) or with an unusual amount of alcohol?

Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Constable Karl Schild by emailing k.schild@west-midlands.pnn.police.uk. Alternatively information can be passed on to Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 1111. Please quote crime number 20WS/229387Z/16.

Alcohol Protected by Curtains? Why Not a Hedge or Steel?

What I don’t understand is that this load of alcohol was only protected by curtains? It reminds me of this skit by comedian Tim Hawkins who asks us to “Pray a hedge of protection” around our friends and family. As Tim points out apparently the Devil is afraid of landscaping. Maybe next time those train cars will use steel instead of curtains?