£205,000 Guinness heist: two HGV trailers stolen from Runcorn depot

Thieves took two HGV trailers holding 800 barrels of Guinness from an industrial estate in Runcorn, England. Cheshire police value the total haul at £205,000.

70,000 pints of Guinness seized in co-ordinated lorry theft at Cheshire depot

Cheshire Constabulary has confirmed that approximately 800 barrels of Guinness — equivalent to around 70,400 pints — were stolen from the Whitehouse Industrial Estate on Aston Lane in Runcorn on Monday evening, RTÉ News reports. The barrels, intended for delivery to pubs, were estimated to be worth £115,000 (€134,000), with the total value of the theft — including the two trailers — put at around £205,000.

Police say the operation involved two separate lorries. The first arrived at approximately 7.45pm, connected to an HGV trailer loaded with Guinness barrels, and departed at around 7.55pm heading towards the Mersey Gateway bridge. A second lorry reached the site at 9.12pm, hitched a further trailer also containing Guinness, and left at 9.30pm in the direction of Rainhill and Watkinson Way.

Both drivers are believed to have been men. The first is described as white with a short dark beard and was wearing a beanie hat; the second is believed to have been wearing a cap.

The stolen trailers are white tri-axle curtain side units bearing the branding of logistics company GXO on their curtains and rear doors. They carry the unique ID numbers DL736 and DL542 on the top left corner of their rear doors.

Diageo, the company that owns the Guinness brand, operates a packaging warehouse at the Whitehouse Industrial Estate. Officers say they are hopeful of a full recovery of the stolen goods.

Cheshire Constabulary has appealed for witnesses who may have seen either lorry in the Aston Lane area on Monday night and has asked anyone with information to contact the force directly.

Source: RTÉ News