Thieves spirit away pricey Cuban cigars

By NATASHA HARRIS

A raid on a central Auckland cigar shop yesterday netted thieves a rare haul of top-range Cuban cigars in a limited-edition humidor cabinet.

The 30cm yellow and black wooden Cohiba 10th Anniversary cabinet, holding 90 Cohiba Siglo cigars, is the only one in New Zealand and one of 500 in the world. Made to celebrate 10 years of sales on the open market, it was priced at $9500.

The humidor cabinet was stolen from Havana House Cigars in Customs St. The five drawers held the six ranges of the Siglo cigars and the sixth one was a new edition.

Cohibas are the cigars of choice of Cuban President Fidel Castro, who offers them to visiting heads of state.

Rolled only by women, their production takes an extra six months because every leaf is specially selected.

Phillipa Preston, of Havana House Cigars, believes the thieves stole to order. Nothing else was taken.

"I'm absolutely gutted. They were my babies ... Somebody wanted it [the cabinet] and sent someone to get it ... I think they'll keep it and they better appreciate it.

"Lots of my regular customers wanted that baby. It was like the superyacht you all long after ... It was a dream item to have."

The thieves smashed a glass front door to get the cigars. They sell individually for $22 to $68.