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Hennessy Heist: $500K In Top-Shelf Cognac Stolen From Truck In Rosedale

ROSEDALE, Md. (WJZ)—Booze bandits. More than half-a-million dollars' worth of top-shelf alcohol was stolen from a shipping yard in Baltimore County.

As Gigi Barnett explains they're still on the loose.

The thieves swept in under the cloak of darkness.

Dozens of trucks and cargo trailers line the yard at Serve U, a shipping company on the edge of the city in Baltimore County.

But, last Sunday someone knew just which container they wanted.

"They were able to contain access to a 2001 freightliner truck," said Cpl. John Wachter, Baltimore County police spokesman. "They backed that truck up and hooked it up to a trailer that had a cargo container on it."

Police say just before 5 a.m., the thieves cut a lock on the gate and hightailed the container off the yard. Inside was more than 2000 cases of top-shelf Hennessey Cognac worth $514,000.

"We don't know exactly where the Cognac had come from or its final destination," Wachter said.

Then nine days after the heist, detectives found the truck and the trailer abandoned on the intersection of West Monroe and Mulberry streets. When detectives opened the trailer, the booze was gone.

The heist came awfully close to St. Patrick's Day, a holiday known for big drinking.

"Yes, it is. We'll take everything into consideration as to a motive," Wachter said.

While detectives have no suspects and no leads at this time, signs on the company's gate warn of surveillance cameras. So, could this have been an inside job?

"Obviously, we don't know who the suspects are. We don't know their motive," Wachter said.

Police released a description of the trailer. It is yellow in color with the letters "MSC" on the sides. Right now detectives are trying to find witnesses who may have seen the suspects unloading that cargo at the time of the heist.

There's a $2,000 reward for anyone with information leading to an arrest.

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