A shocking video captured the moment a fired employee was caught on camera spilling 60,000 litres of wine in a warehouse, resulting in a loss of $2.7 million.
The woman, whose name was not released by the Valladolid Civil Guard, was arrested and taken into custody on Thursday and questioned by police before being released.
A trial date is pending, officials said.
The worker had a one-year temporary contract with the Cepa 21 wine company and was notified in the first week of February that it would not be renewed.
The employee concealed her identity by wearing a hooded sweatshirt and entered the winery in the town of Castrillo de Duero in the early hours of February 18. Once inside, she entered the code for the alarm system, which she did not know was off, and activated it.
In February, the former employee of the Cepa 21 winery was caught on camera sabotaging the tanks at the warehouse in Castrillo de Duero, Spain, and releasing 60,000 liters of wine worth $2.7 million. Authorities arrested her at her home on Thursday.
The employee was splashed by the wine that came out of the tank and was almost knocked down
A surveillance camera showed her approaching one of the barrels and turning the valve as wine gushed out, nearly knocking her over.
As wine spilled onto the floor, the woman attempted to sabotage a second tank that turned out to be empty and ran to another area of the warehouse.
Police said the worker was able to activate three of the five tanks she could access before fleeing.
According to Europa Press, two of Cepa 21’s best-selling wines were stored in the warehouses, which accounted for 15 percent of its sales in 2023.
The president of Cepa 21, José Moro, explained to Antena 3 that they notified the woman of the decision not to extend the contract to give her enough time to find another job.
In early February, the woman was told that her temporary employment contract would not be renewed, so she returned on the morning of February 18 and proceeded to open the valves of five tanks, including three that contained 60,000 liters of red wine.
A fired winery worker was arrested on Thursday in northwestern Spain for sabotaging a Cepa 21 warehouse and causing a loss of 2.7 million dollars after spilling 60,000 liters of red wine from three tanks
“The reason for the dismissal is because we have peak periods when we need more staff, in the high season,” said Moro. “But in the mid-season we need fewer people and, in terms of productivity and turnover, it was her turn.”
Moro revealed that she returned to the warehouse shortly after the incident to ask to be rehired.
“I can’t understand why he did it,” he said. “The feeling I have is bittersweet, on the one hand satisfaction because he was caught but on the other hand sadness because I remember when I went into the winery and saw all the wine spilled out. It’s outrageous. I’m sad.”
Investigators are trying to determine whether the woman’s boyfriend helped her sabotage the wine tanks.