Spirited away: Gang steals 15,000 bottles of whiskey in pre-Christmas heist

Criminals took away lorries packed with bottles of spirits in an audacious daylight raid.

16:56 02 December 2014

Thieves have managed to steal more than 15,000 bottles of whiskey in an audacious daylight heist that targeted Christmas booze stock.

Reports claim that the gang, who were armed with iron bars, tied up employees at a warehouse on the outskirts of Dublin before loading the alcohol into two 40ft-long trucks.

Among the items that were taken were 15,480 bottles of Jameson Whiskey, numerous six bottle cases of Jack Daniel’s and unknown number of six-bottle cases of Bombay Sapphire gin.

Police said in a statement: "Two employees were working at the warehouse when two men entered the building armed with iron bars.

"They forced the employees to open the loading bay. At least three more men arrived and the employees were tied up."

It is believed that the stolen bottles of spirits will be sold on the black market in the run-up to Christmas. The retail value of the alcohol is said to be hundreds of thousands of euros.