2 days Ago By USA TODAY
and and their have been ripped off – to the tune of more than $1 million. Two trucks carrying a total of 4,440 cases of tequila, or 24,240 bottles of Santo Tequila, valued at more than $1 million, were diverted from their destination, a Lansdale, Pennsylvania spirits importer that handles the tequila for the brand owned by Hagar and Fieri. The trucks left Laredo, Texas, on Nov.
7, and at some point during the weekend of Nov. 9-10 the import firm began getting what eventually were discovered to be "fictitious updates from the trucker that won the bid (to deliver the tequila), about a breakdown ..
. they were going to have to get some things fixed," Santo Spirits CEO Dan Butkus told USA TODAY. After a few days, the trucking company and the importer "realized that something was amiss," with the cargo, he said.
Apparently, a third party had diverted the trucks, sending GPS emulators to show the "product was still going where it was supposed to be going," Butkus said. "It took about five days to the point where the broker said, 'Okay, this product's been stolen'." So far, police have no idea where the tequila is.
The haul amounts to about 12% of the company's annual sales, he said. In addition to cases of Santo's blanco and reposado tequilas, one of the trucks carried 40 cases of a new extra añejo that spent 39 months aging in barrels, he said. "For a growing company like Santo, it's really a shame for something like this to happen in the middle of our strongest year to date and right before the holidays," Sammy Hagar said in a statement to USA TODAY.
"Anyone that knows business knows that this is a gigantic setback for any independently-owned company in a hugely competitive market. But Guy and I are not the type to sit back and whine over spilled tequila. Our distillery is working day and night right now to replace as much stock as we can.
Most of all, we're glad that nobody was hurt. We count our blessings and wish everyone out there a happy holiday season with family and friends." "We've worked so hard," Fieri told , which first reported the incident.
"This is our best year we've ever had in Santo. We just had all this momentum, and now whatever's on the shelf is all people are going to get." One truck has been tracked to California and authorities there are involved in the investigation, said Laredo Police Department spokesman Joe Baeza in a statement to USA TODAY.
"At this preliminary phase of the investigation it is believed that at some point the trucks with the tequila cargo were re-routed to California due to alleged issues with the warehouse at the original listed destination, which this is still being vetted," Baeza said. Baeza notes that while some media reports have incorrectly described the tequila as being hijacked. "The investigation has indicated that no force was ever used to acquire the trucks and the freight was transferred from the warehouse to the legitimate motor carrier hired by the shipper to transport it," Baeza said.
"Both drivers involved in this investigation were never injured at any point.".
