Police arrest 4 men trying to snatch over $500,000-worth of tequila on NYE

Police in Hillsborough County, Florida, have crashed what might have become an especially boozy New Year's Eve bash when they caught four men emptying a stolen truck of some 996 cases of tequila, worth over half-a-million dollars.

Four suspects were apprehended by police as they were removing the haul from a semi-trailer they had just stolen and were busy transferring the bottles into their own box truck in the early hours of Monday.

The thieves had detached the trailer, filled to the brim with 'ultra-premium' Patron Tequila, from its truck while the driver stopped for dinner at a pull-up café around 11 pm Sunday, police said.

As he finished his meal, he realized that his trailer and its pricey load were missing. Police, alerted about the incident, promptly located the four suspects near the intersection of Ike Smith Road and McIntosh Road.

The deputies were just in time, as the men, all from Florida, had already transferred some 20 cases into their vehicle when they got busted.

Vidal Estrada, Lemuel Escobar, Humberto Ramirez and Alberto Obaya were arrested at the scene and charged with grand theft and with resisting officers without violence.

Obaya is also facing charges of possession of a controlled substance.

The men were taken into custody and are looking at a New Year's night behind bars, before their appearance in court on Tuesday.

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