Nearly $500,000 in bourbon was stolen from a Philadelphia warehouse in a daylight robbery in which unsuspecting employees helped load the liquor directly into the thieves’ truck.
The 10,800 bottles – totaling 1,800 cases – of Noble Oak Bourbon were stolen from an American Supply warehouse between 1pm and 3pm on Friday in a “coordinated merchandise theft,” conducted by A21 Wine & Spirits and Apogee 21 Holdings, Inc. He told NBC Philadelphia.
The outlet reported that the suspects tricked warehouse employees into thinking they were supposed to load the truck full of high-quality booze.
Rob Koch, chief operating officer of Apogee 21 Holdings, Inc., said the workers missed some standard security protocols and let the thieves in to “proceed with the theft.”
“We are treating this as a serious criminal matter and are fully cooperating with law enforcement,” an A21 Wine & Spirits spokesperson told the outlet.
“The theft involved a large quantity of premium bourbon from our newly acquired brand, Noble Oak, and appears to have been carried out with knowledge of logistics processes and product movement schedules.”
Koch urged distributors, bars, restaurants, and consumers to remain vigilant, as stolen bourbon may be resold through unauthorized channels, secondary wholesalers, online marketplaces, or other illegal distribution networks.
“This is one of the largest bourbon thefts we’ve seen, especially this year in the area,” Koch told the outlet.
The massive theft was reported to the Philadelphia Police Department, the FBI and other agencies.
Apogee 21 Holdings did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.