Burglars have hit on a wine merchant in the town of Velbert in Norhtrhine-Westphalia in Germany. Numerous rarities in the field of Spanish and Portuguese wines were stolen.

Burglars broke into the merchant's premises, who is specialised in Spanish and Portuguese wines, in the night from the 21st to the 22nd of May 2008. Numerous rare wines and large-format bottles were stolen - up to an 18 litre bottle of 2005 Vall Llach. The goods must have been loaded into a van at the time of the burglary, the total value of the stolen goods amounts to around 60.000 Euros. Any information related to any suspicious persons, the vehicles they used, or any other information should be given to the police in Velbert (Tel. +49-(0)2051/946-6110). A reward of up to 1.000 Euros has been made available for information leading to the apprehension of the burglars. A list of the wines stolen is available at http://www.internetoase.de/diebstahl.htm. (WF)