A man has denied stealing rare bottles of wine and whisky worth £125,000 in a raid on a Mayfair business.
Mohamed Hammoud, 20, is accused of trespassing at the offices of Decant Index to steal the luxury bottles on February 18 last year.
The premises, which overlook Green Park, are home to a lounge bar and tasting room and act as a marketplace for collectors and investors to buy and sell rare and expensive drinks bottles.
Hammoud appeared at Southwark Crown Court on Friday after being charged with burglary following a Metropolitan Police investigation.
In a hearing in front of Judge Justin Cole, Hammoud entered a not guilty plea.
The court was told he denies being the person who stole the bottles.
According to the charge, Hammoud is alleged to have “entered as a trespasser a building, namely 105 Piccadilly, and stole rare bottles of wine and whisky to the value of £125,000”.
Judge Cole freed Hammoud, who lives in Soho, central London, on conditional bail until a trial lasting up to three days which is due to start on October 2, 2028.
Under the terms of his bail, Hammoud must sleep each night at home, remain under an electronically-tagged curfew between 9pm and 6am, and he must not go to Decant Index’s offices on Piccadilly.
.jpg?w=600)
