- By Kathryn Armstrong
- BBC News
43 minutes ago
Image source, Europa Press News
picture description,
The couple were arrested in July after a nine-month international police manhunt
A former Mexican beauty queen and her partner have been sentenced to four years in prison in Spain for stealing 45 bottles of wine worth an estimated $1.7million (£1.4million).
The incident happened in 2021 at a luxury hotel in the Spanish city of Cáceres where the couple was staying.
The couple later fled but were arrested nine months later at the Croatia-Montenegro border and taken back to Spain.
None of the wines were recovered.
The court only named the couple Tatania and Estanislao, but they were identified by Spanish media as Priscila Guevara and Constantín Dumitru.
According to the court, Tatania checked into the exclusive Atrio Hotel in October 2021 with a fake Swiss passport.
She was later joined by Estanislao and both enjoyed a 14-course meal at the on-site Michelin-star restaurant, followed by a tour of the wine cellar.
Estanislao then returned in the early hours of the next morning to search the basement with a stolen key, which the court suggested he took from reception while Tatania provided a diversion.
One of the wine bottles stuffed into their rucksacks was a unique 19th-century vintage and is said to have been worth €350,000 (£310,000).
The theft sparked an international police manhunt that ended in July when the couple were caught trying to enter Croatia.
According to the El País newspaper, the couple reportedly visited the restaurant at least three times previously to prepare for the robbery.
The couple were also ordered to pay more than €750,000 in damages to insurers.
Their verdicts are not yet final and the couple will have an opportunity to appeal.