A distillery in the North East was hit by a "well organised" heist - as thieves reportedly stole 7,000 bottles of their popular spirits.
York-based Sloemotion Distillery was targeted by a gang of six thieves over the weekend, who damaged the building whilst gaining access to steal the high value gin, liqueurs and vodka from their warehouse.
Though the thieves allegedly made off with thousands of bottles of gin, which has been hoisted out of a hole they had cut in the warehouse roof, they were quickly chased down.
The alarm at Sloemotion Distillery's premises had alerted officers from North Yorkshire Police. After a chase down the A64, the gang was caught near Bilborough heading west, the police apprehended four adults in a van.
Two of the alleged thieves driving the lorry abandoned the vehicle whilst it was still moving, and were found hiding in a haystack by police dogs after a foot pursuit over 7km of fields.
In a statement, the company said: “We are shocked that this has happened to our local, community-based business. We have been going since 2002 and we have never been targeted like this. It’s surreal and so upsetting.”
“They must have been very desperate and thirsty, as they lifted over 7,000 bottles of spirits case by case through a hole they created in our new roof!”
Despite the cost of damages, the team added: “We are so pleased that no one was hurt during the incident and will do everything we can to ensure that supply will not be affected to our customers.
“Our team have already ensured that the important Christmas Markets in York, Manchester and Winchester continue without disruption”.
Stolen spirits were recovered by police after the car chase - but they are still being used as evidence, meaning staff at the distillery have been unable to check them for damage or put them back on the shelves.
Sloemotion said that the theft “couldn’t have happened at a worse time just as demand ramps up for Christmas"
They added that the news of the incident was very upsetting due to “months of hard work building up stock levels for the most important part of the year” that they depend upon for survival.
The business thanked the police for their bravery and fast actions, saying: “They were anything but ‘Sloe’! Without the immediate support from North Yorkshire Police we would have been facing terrible losses, also these criminals may have got away and not be brought to justice.
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"North Yorkshire Police receive our heartfelt thanks and gratitude for doing such an amazing thing for us, saving our business and the local community jobs.”
This follows a number of other similar incidents in the area. In March 2022 family-run Yorkshire Dales Distillery reported a burglary where tens of thousands of pounds was stolen.
This was followed by a heist in May 2022 at Glenfarclas Distillery, that saw thieves steal more than £100,000 worth of rare whiskies from the site, with another six-figure raid on fellow York-based distiller, York Gin, in June 2022.
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