Appeal for anyone offered bottle of stolen whisky after £150,000 theft from Glenfarclas Speyside distillery

Police are asking anyone offered stolen whisky to come forward after bottles worth around £150,000 were taken from a Speyside distillery.

In the early hours of Sunday, May 15, thieves broke into Glenfarclas Distillery in Ballindalloch and helped themselves to a number of family casks and a 60-year-old malt.

Police want to speak to two men in connection with the incident and believe they travelled to and from the scene in a vehicle on the A95 or nearby unclassified roads.

Buying any of the very valuable 20 bottles of stolen Glenfarclas whisky is a crime, detective inspector Andrew Wilson warned.

The owners of Glenfarclas said thieves 'knew exactly what they were looking for.' — The owners of Glenfarclas said thieves ‘knew exactly what they were looking for.’ Glenfarclas

“I would also appeal to anyone who may have been offered a bottle of the stolen Glenfarclas branded whisky to contact us,” DI Wilson said, “It is a criminal offence to buy stolen goods.”

Police officers have been reviewing CCTV footage of the incident, thought to have occurred at around 2.45am.

The owners of Glenfarclas in Ballindalloch said they were left “horrified” by the targeted attack.

Cabinets were smashed and other parts of the visitor centre, owned by the family since 1836, were also damaged in the break-in.

Police have appealed to anyone who was travelling on the A95 between 2am and 3am last Sunday morning (May 15). OpenStreetMap

Distillery bosses said those responsible “knew exactly what they were looking for” in a statement posted online after an inventory taken later that morning found some of the rarest items had been stolen.

DI Wilson, from North East CID, said: “As part of our investigation, we have been reviewing CCTV footage to gain more information regarding the two men we wish to speak to in connection with the break-in.

“We believe they would have used a vehicle to travel to and from the scene. I am appealing to anyone who was travelling on the A95 between 2am and 3am last Sunday morning (May 15), or the surrounding unclassified roads, particularly if you have dash-cam, to get in touch with us.”

Anyone with any information is asked to call Police Scotland on 101, quoting 1328 of Sunday, May 15, 2022.