Police uncover theft of 400 wine bottles after street fight

Police have uncovered the theft of 400 wine bottles from the wine storage facility of Alfred, a restaurant in Oulu, after expensive bottles began appearing among people known to police. Yle reports that the stolen wine was worth thousands of euros.

The restaurant’s owner, Juha Eskelinen, learned about the theft on Friday through a WhatsApp group for Oulu restaurant operators. Members had asked whether any restaurant was missing a large quantity of wine after people had been fighting over bottles in the city centre.

Police had noticed the bottles the previous Monday. Investigating officer Jarno Väliaho, a detective chief inspector with the Oulu police, said unusually expensive wines had started turning up among people known to police as regular customers who generally do not buy their own wine.

The storage facility is at street level in central Oulu, and staff visit it about once a week. Witnesses living in the building told restaurant employees that the storage door had been left partly open.

Eskelinen suspects the 400 bottles were not taken all at once, but collected from the storage facility over several days, one box at a time.

The facility also contained wines belonging to Gustavi, a restaurant in Rovaniemi that is owned by Eskelinen. The stolen bottles were so-called house wines labelled for the restaurants, including Gustavi Riesling and Alfred Pinot Noir.

A bottle sells for 45 euros at the restaurant. Eskelinen estimates the total loss at between 7,000 and 8,000 euros.

Police suspected from the outset that the bottles had been stolen, but did not connect the theft to Alfred until Eskelinen reported it.

No suspect has been identified. Police have carried out investigative measures, including searches of homes, but have not found the person responsible. The wine has not been recovered.

Väliaho said the bottles had ended up with people who drink heavily and may also have been sold on. The entire stock could be consumed quickly if several people were drinking it, he said.

Eskelinen does not expect the wine to be returned. Even if it is recovered, he said it could no longer be used in the restaurants.

The theft will not affect the restaurants’ wine selection because the entire stock was not taken. However, the company can no longer use the storage facility because it has been identified as a target.

Eskelinen suspects the theft may be connected to the building where the storage facility is located. Someone may have seen wine deliveries arriving by lorry and become interested in a particular storage room, he said.

Police are asking for information. Anyone who notices an unusually large quantity of full wine bottles can report it, including by calling the emergency number, Väliaho said.