4 Florida men accused of stealing over $500,000 in tequila
Sheriff's deputies in Florida recovered a half-million dollar truckload of stolen tequila early on New Year's Eve. Police arrested four men ranging in age from 35 to 66.
Hillsborough sheriff's spokesman Danny Alvarez said in a statement that a truck driver hauling the load of tequila had stopped for dinner Sunday night at a Tampa-area truck stop when he noticed the trailer was no longer attached to his truck. Deputies began searching and found the semi-trailer at a nearby intersection at around 12:30 a.m.
Alvarez said deputies watched the four men transferring cases of Patron tequila to another box truck. He said that before the deputies moved in, the men had transferred over 20 cases from the fully loaded truck.
The men were identified as Lemuel Escobar, 35; Vidal Estrada, 66; Alberto Obaya, 46; and Humberto Ramirez, 37. Authorities arrested three men at the scene and Escobar fled but was arrested a short time later.
Alvarez said the load of tequila was worth more than $500,000.