Police: Two stuffed liquor in pants, left store

PEMBROKE PINES – Several hundred dollars worth of alcohol disappeared from a Pembroke Pines liquor store when two men stuffed bottles down their pants and inside their shirts and left the store without paying, police said.

The shoplifting method, and the two men involved, have a lot in common with a similar liquor store theft last year in Fort Lauderdale.

Investigators Tuesday released security surveillance images and video of the Pembroke Pines theft in the hopes of generating leads in the case and identifying the two thieves. The crime happened shortly before 10:30 p.m. Aug. 2 at ABC Fine Wine & Spirits, 10798 Pines Boulevard.

The surveillance video shows the two men roaming the store’s aisles, seeming to shop, and taking liquor bottles off the shelves.

One man — wearing glasses, a blue buttoneddown shirt and ripped bluejeans — is seen handing bottles to an accomplice who quickly conceals them down his pants and inside his shirt. That man — wearing a white buttoned-down shirt, blue undershirt and white cargo shorts — is later seen at the cash register paying for a single can of beer.

According to police, the duo made off with $744.87 cents worth of alcohol.

Although investigators have yet to confirm a possible link, the two people shown in the ABC surveillance have a striking resemblance to an August 2018 case in Fort Lauderdale. In that crime, police said two men were seen stuffing about $1,000 worth of liquor down their pants at the Crown Wine and Spirits store at 1645 Cordova Rd.

Investigators urge anyone with information on ABC store theft or the identities of either man to contact Pembroke Pines Police Detective Aju Thomas at 954-435-6563. Tips can also be given, anonymously, to Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477.