Thieves steal over $700K worth of rare wines in daring break-in at Southern California store 

Thieves got away with over $700,000 in rare wines imported from France and Italy during a break-in at a Los Angeles area wine shop over the weekend. 

Video captured the thieves cutting a hole in the ceiling of Lincoln Fine Wines, just above the cellar where some of his most expensive wines were stored.

The thief reportedly used rope to climb down into the cellar from the roof and stayed inside for several hours, stealing hundreds of bottles from the establishment. 

The owner, Nazmul Haque Helal, said some of the ‘blue-chip’ bottles stolen by the group cost $5,000 a pop and that they stole 75 percent of the high-end items.

‘They cleaned it out,’ said Helal. ‘They took everything, so we don’t have anything left in the Burgundy and Bordeaux side.’ 

Video captured the thieves cutting a hole in the ceiling of Lincoln Fine Wines, just above the cellar where some of his most expensive wines were stores

The break-in began just after midnight on June 30 at  the store on Lincoln Boulevard. 

The unidentified burglar is seen hiding behind a mask and wearing a dark ‘Anti-Social Social Club’ hoodie while carrying a case through the store.

The thief remained in the store until nearly 4am, Haque said, walking the aisles and grabbing more than 600 bottles from the prestigious wine collection.

‘It’s like I’m shocked, you know, because you don’t expect these things,’ said Haque.

‘So when you see something happen you don’t expect … I don’t know how long it will take to recover. It’s not only financial, it’s emotional,’ he told ABC 7. 

The owner said he had spent decades crafting his collection and that many of the ‘blue-chip’ bottles cannot be replaced. 

Blue-chip bottles are wines that are considered ‘stable investments,’ according to Vinfolio. These wines have values that are expected to climb over time.

‘My collection started 16, 17 years [ago],’ he said. ‘I have a lot of French Burgundy that’s just hard to get.’

One of the suspects was seen hopping on top of this metal container and sawing a hole in the top in order to access the fine and expensive wines 

‘They cleaned it out,’ said store owner Nazmul Haque Helal. ‘They took everything, so we don’t have anything left in the Burgundy and Bordeaux side’

A white truck was believed to have been involved in the break-in 

Haque (pictured) said he spent nearly two decades curating his collection of fine wines 

Outside surveillance footage showed a white pickup truck circling the building before the suspect approached the building. 

After the thief left, the white truck was spotted driving away as well. 

Haque said he believes multiple people were involved and that the thieves knew exactly what they were looking for in this ‘extremely large and planned burglary.’ 

The store’s owner is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the capturing the culprits. 

Haque is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the capturing the culprits. Pictured: Empty racks of wine sit in the cellar after the break-in at Lincoln Fine Wines

Haque’s now warning other business owners to take precautions including adding better security cameras to their establishments throughout their businesses. 

‘I’m trying to send this message to all our business people of the neighborhood,’ Haque said. 

‘I want to tell everything that they can be cautious and they can prevent this loss.’

The owner also said he is planning on sending a list of the stolen wines to local stores and auction houses to be on the lookout. 

Anyone with information is encouraged to reach out to the Los Angeles Police Department with tips.