Thieves Crash Truck Loaded With Almost $20,000 of Stolen Vodka into Police Car During Attempted Hooch Heist

BBC News reported on Thursday that thieves in Warwickshire, England, crashed a truck loaded with £15,000 ($18,770) of vodka into a police car when authorities were trying to apprehend the criminals during the vodka heist. On Thursday, law enforcement in Warwickshire received a call reporting two men behaving strangely near a vehicle service station. Authorities arrived at the scene, and the thieves drove a Renault HGV truck into the police car before making their escape. A few moments later, police found the abandoned truck off the side of the M40 roadway. Authorities surmised the thieves fled the scene by running down the side of the highway.

"Gangs continue to come into the country to target lorry parks," Detective Inspector Pete Sherwood said, according to the BBC.

In March, The Guardian reported on rising incidents of theft from what it referred to as "Goodfellas-style gangs," who pilfer products like booze, food and tobacco before selling them on the black market. These organized crime gangs appear to be professional, according to the outlet, and spent plenty of time researching when lorries — or shipping trucks — loaded with booze and other goods that make their way into service stations. They carry out these operations with plenty of finesse, and typically operate in CCTV-secured auto parks. Multiple incidents of distillery heists have made media headlines in 2024 alone, such as an incident in March , when a group of thieves attempted to drive off with over £80,000 ($100,120) of gin, champagne and rum during another truck heist. The police ended up apprehending the thieves in a high-speed chase that took place in Cornwall, and authorities claimed it was "extensively planned." The suspects were taken into custody.

"These gangs will do about 10, 15 vehicles in a row, slash the curtains, and the vast majority are happening in what are termed 'secure parking,'" said Managing Director of Bicester Freight Firm Direct Connect, Rhys Hackling, in a statement to The Guardian. "Then it goes on sale within a day or so on places like Facebook Marketplace and eBay, trying to move it quickly. And unless these items have serial numbers and tags they can be very hard to trace back."

As for the latest incident, Sherwood claimed law enforcement would amp up security measures within the motor parks to prevent incidents like this one from happening. [botmc-promo]