EAR: Cigar theft. Do I report or not?

[El Presidente]

EAR = Email Assistance Required

😲

"This went down last Sunday. Me and my wife were over at my niece’s birthday party, gone for a few hours. Somebody broke in through the kitchen window, neighbors weren’t around to see anything. They left the usual stuff,laptops, iPads untouched,but cleaned out the liquor, grabbed some loose change, and straight up wiped my electronic humidor clean. 22 boxes of aged CCs gone. Then they dipped in my wife’s car.

I filed the police report, no doubt, but now I gotta lock in the list of everything they took. Deadline's tomorrow. My main concern is the cigars. Replacing that stash? I’m looking at over 20K easy. Thing is, I work a government-sensitive gig, so I don’t need a bunch of eyes on this or digging into my business.

Just wondering if anyone’s been through something like this—especially with cigars involved—and how you handled it. Any advice would mean a lot."

 

[Puros Y Vino]

If this person is in the US..uh..no..you're screwed. "Hello Police? My Cuban cigars were stolen". 

I'm inclined to say perhaps the thief is known to you some way and is into the hobby too?  Given that your booze and liquor were targeted, it seems the culprits knew what to focus on for best return and where it was and what time would be best to strike. A nieces birthday? That's a day thing, not a night thing. OTOH. Someone who used to be a member here had his place broken into and 3/4 of his humidor was emptied. The culprit was a homeless junkie who knew nothing about cigars. You'll never get the exact cigars back of course, or their dollar value. But if you're outside the US. An LCDH will work with your insurer to replace any stock that is still being made. That's what happened in the case I alluded to. 

Best of luck to you. 

[chris12381]

In my opinion, the very fact he's considering eating a 20k loss because it might impact something that for others, would never be a consideration, should be the big red flag for him. 

I don't think he needs answers from us. He needs a consultation with an attorney with experience representing people with security clearances.  

[El Presidente]

3 minutes ago, Puros Y Vino said:

If this person is in the US..

The great state of Michigan from memory. Good bloke. 

[sudoslash]

This is a big fear of mine as my collection grows. I probably wouldn't tell the cops. $20k is comfortably a felony for ole sticky fingers, and that could bring some scrutiny upon what was stolen and how you got them. Though at that price, it probably makes sense to talk to a lawyer - might be able to play some ball. 

[Chas.Alpha]

I still have my facturas from my perfectly legitimate and legal trips to Cuba. I could overnight them if he thinks it would help.

BTW, owning Cuban cigars purchased in Cuba between 2016 and early 2020 in the U.S. is legal and legit.

[Havanaaddict]

12 hours ago, Chas.Alpha said:

BTW, owning Cuban cigars purchased in Cuba between 2016 and early 2020 in the U.S. is legal and legit.

You can just leave it vague, and say you had 22 boxes of cigars in my humidor. Approximately $500 per box at least that would be something $11000 better than nothing.

More than likely, you can just say whatever value you think they were worth as my guess they’ll probably never recover them.

Like it was said before if they’re taking booze and cigars and leaving electronics and other valuables. My best guess would be neighborhood kids. Do you know any of them that are troublemakers that is where I would look first.

A lot of NC & CC brands cross names so you can just say I had Partagas, Hoyo de Monterey, Romeo and Juliet, Monte Cristo, Cohiba, El Ray, Del Mundo, H. Upmann, la Gloria Cubana, Saint Luis Ray, Sancho Panza, Trinidad.

if they ever did recover them, they’re just gonna look at the top of the box and being just regular cops probably not gonna really care that it says Cuba. They’re just gonna look at the fact that it says the name of the Cigar and that matches what you reported stolen.

Sorry this happened to you!

[Hammer Smokin']

If the fella is thinking about claiming on insurance, most insurance policies exclude tobacco. (Not all, but most.)

[Chibearsv]

This is only what I’d do, I’d report them to local Police. It’s the only chance to get them back, and those odds are still low. Whether reporting that theft might affect a government gig or not is out of my realm. I’d guess the feds would never know, but maybe they know everything. 🤷‍♂️

[Greenhorn2]

12 hours ago, Chas.Alpha said:

I still have my facturas from my perfectly legitimate and legal trips to Cuba. I could overnight them if he thinks it would help.

BTW, owning Cuban cigars purchased in Cuba between 2016 and early 2020 in the U.S. is legal and legit.

As Charles stated, I would report them stolen. They were legal to import for a few years.

[BrightonCorgi]

I would report them. Don't second guess on whether your property is worthy of a police report.

Around 20 years ago a local heroin addict broke into my parents' house on the Cape while they lived in Mexico 4 months of the year. He stole a handful of port wine bottles I stored there. Did not leave any tasting notes either! Some bottles included a '55 Taylor, '63 Fonseca, etc...I thought he stole some of my dad's rifles, but little did I know he had them stored secure in the attic.

Filed a police report and insurance claim. Got reimbursed on the bottles.

Police are not going to question how you got the cigars. It's not like you reporting missing cocaine.

[Fuzz]

Whilst the cops may not quibble about the provenance of the Cuban cigars, the insurance company may about paying out on embargoed goods.

[cnov]

Keep a lookout in the usual places cigars get sold! Didn't a forum user find their stash online shortly after being stolen?

Could the whole FoH team help out if we have some rough information?

 

[BrightonCorgi]

18 hours ago, Fuzz said:

Whilst the cops may not quibble about the provenance of the Cuban cigars, the insurance company may about paying out on embargoed goods.

I don't think that is a legal excuse to evade payment of personal property. The claim can just be "brand and model" without country of origin on the claim.  

[BrightonCorgi]

I would offer a reward to kids the area for information or hire a private investigator to find the cigars. 5K for the return (no questions asked) will attract some attention.

[teamrandr]

I'm sorry that this happened to you brother. That's a terrible thing to go through.  

[SCgarman]

9 hours ago, Fuzz said:

Whilst the cops may not quibble about the provenance of the Cuban cigars, the insurance company may about paying out on embargoed goods.

This is likely. Cigars regardless of origin, may be an item insurance companies won't want to get involved in. Liquor also, unless it was very valuable and had special coverage on it. 

[BrightonCorgi]

5 hours ago, SCgarman said:

This is likely. Cigars regardless of origin, may be an item insurance companies won't want to get involved in. Liquor also, unless it was very valuable and had special coverage on it. 

I had my stolen wine covered without issue on general homeowners insurance, no special policy or schedules.

[unaslob]

Sounds pretty targeted. They knew what they were looking for. That sucks. Venture to guess there only 1-2 degrees of separation here. 

[Hammer Smokin']

Alcohol will have a small sub limit on a general property policy. Tobacco will not (highly unlikely). 

A quick look at our home owner packages (5 tier levels) - none cover any tobacco, and our top two tiers cover $10K of booze and $25K of booze accordingly. (Receipts required for booze.)

[mikejh]

12 hours ago, unaslob said:

Sounds pretty targeted. They knew what they were looking for. That sucks. Venture to guess there only 1-2 degrees of separation here. 

Yeah seems like an odd thing to steal unless you already knew they were there.

[BrightonCorgi]

8 hours ago, mikejh said:

Yeah seems like an odd thing to steal unless you already knew they were there.

If they were in plain sight I can see it. Time is of the essence and grab what you can. 

Could very well be someone who knew they were there. That's why I would hire a private investigator. The recovery value is there.

[SCgarman]

13 hours ago, unaslob said:

Sounds pretty targeted. They knew what they were looking for. That sucks. Venture to guess there only 1-2 degrees of separation here. 

Yeah, they left the Rolex, gold bars and cash there. Only took cigars and alcohol. Definitely targeted. 😁

[gormag38]

On 4/17/2025 at 6:13 AM, El Presidente said:

The great state of Michigan from memory. Good bloke

I reside in this state and have had to deal with loss due to a fire years back. Had to get a list of all the items we lost (didn’t include cc) and give it to insurance. They have it a very Quick Look and gave us our max benefit. 

Now I don't know if a police report is any different, but I would be surprised if they give it a super serious look. My only concern would be the price/value of the cigars. That may cause an adjuster to raise an eyebrow and investigate further.