Police recover huge haul of stolen alcohol

Three articulated lorry-loads of stolen booze worth at least £300,000 at wholesale prices have been uncovered by police at a warehouse in north London.

Up to 60,000 bottles of spirits and wine were uncovered at the Tottenham address in mid-October but details are only now emerging.

Police think most of the alcohol will not have been duty-paid, representing a customs bill of around £80,000. They add that virtually all the bottles have been traced back to their true owners and are confident that they will locate owners of the remainder shortly.

DS Paul Cheadle from Haringey Police has been working on the case and said: "We have received somewhere in the region of between 50,000 and 60,000 bottles of spirits - three articulated lorry loads. That's what it took us to take away.

"The vast majority of it is from where the wine producers have been defrauded. Victims particularly in France have been deceived into sending their wines to the UK and subsequently haven't been paid."

However one company whose stolen alcohol was recovered by police was drinks firm Hi-Spirits, which lost £40,000 worth of Sebor Absinth and Prava Slivovice, plum brandy, after falling foul to a diversion sting earlier this year.

Within sight of its end destination, the London City Bond warehouse, the Hi-Spirits driver was redirected. His papers were seemingly officially stamped and it was only when the bond rang Hi-Spirits that the alarm raised.

Hi-Spirits managing director Jeremy Hill said: "Our driver who didn't speak a great deal of English was bamboozled into thinking he was delivering to the right place."

A man has been charged with conspiracy to handle stolen goods and enquiries are ongoing.