Thieves steal $375,000 worth of wine through Paris' catacombs

This is a very, very French story. Earlier this week, thieves stole 300 bottles of wine in Paris, accessing the cellar through the famous catacombs.

Source: CC0 Creative Commons

Thieves have stolen around 300 Grand cru (superior grade) bottles of wine from a Parisian cellar this week. The value of the stolen goods is estimated at over $375 000.

The burglars access the cellars through the catacombs, which are underground ossuaries. They drilled a hole in a wall to access the cellar, in Paris' 6th arrondissement - close to the Jardin du Luxembourg.

"We believe they must have made visits before; the suspects didn’t drill that particular wall by accident," a police spokesperson told the media.

Catacombs in paris Source: CC0 Creative Commons

The catacombs form a network of around 250 km of underground tunnels in the French capital. A small part (around 2km) is open to the public, but most of it is closed to visitors. It’s illegal to enter the other galleries, but some people know of secrets entrances, which are popular with teenagers and partygoers.