Deputies recover $500,000 in stolen tequila; 4 in custody

TAMPA, Fla. (WTVD) -- Deputies in Hillsborough County, Florida, recovered more than 966 cases of stolen Patron brand tequila worth about $507,000.

Investigators said a truck driver hauling the alcohol stopped for dinner at a truck stop on Sunday night in Tampa. At some point after making the stop, the driver noticed his trailer was no longer attached to his truck.

Deputies found the trailer more than 10 miles away.

Authorities say they found four men transferring the cases of tequila to another box truck. All four men were taken into custody.

Vidal Estrada, 66, Lemuel Escobar, 35, Humberto Ramirez, 37, and Alberto Obaya, 46, have each been arrested and charged with grand theft, resisting arrest and burglary of an unoccupied conveyance. Obaya faces an additional charge of possession of a controlled substance.

Read more from ABC's Tampa affiliate here.