Cyber thieves steal 19,000 bottles of tequila from Wrightsville Beach-based spirits brand

After a series of logistics hurdles, Daytoon Distributors – the people behind Blue Shark Vodka – are preparing to launch Hacienda Chactun Tequila in January. A shipment of their blano tequila is safely in their Wilmington facility.

But on Dec. 21, cyber criminals stole 19,000 bottles of the reposado tequila, said Mark Milliken, a retired admiral and CEO of the tequila brand. While some details are confidential due to the ongoing investigation, it’s believed the thieves infiltrated the company’s logistics network, manipulating GPS systems to divert the trucks to an unknown location.

“That’s ten years of work,” said Mark Bloomquist, chair of Daytoon Distributors. “I'm shocked and disgusted... They’ve put a ding in this, but we will be back. We have only just begun."

Wrightsville Beach-based Daytoon, which also makes Summer Storm Sophisticated Moonshine, has had varieties of a Mexican-made tequila in the works for more than a decade. Officials are calling it the Grinch Tequila Heist.

“We’ve poured our hearts and souls into crafting this exceptional liquor," said Geoffrey Losee, outside counsel for Daytoon. "Now, thanks to these digital Scrooges, our launch has been thrown into disarray.”

Bloomquist said the shipment was valued at $380,000.

A logistics team working with a major trucking company was given constant updates on the shipment going from Mexico to North Carolina. But the updates turned out to be fictional and the driver, not real, Bloomquist said. In fact, they believe the fictional driver even sent fake photos of traffic and a flat tire. Police and federal authorities now believe the shipment is in California.

Daytoon isn't the only spirits company to experience such a heist. About 21,000 bottles of Crystal Head Vodka from Dan Ackroyd were stolen in 2011 and more than half-a-million dollars' worth of Hennessey Cognac were part of a 2014 heist. Earlier this year, thieves stole more than $1.6 million worth of alcohol from a distribution company in Florida.

Daytoon is still planning their tequila launch.

“We plan to still launch in January with our blanco product and begin to meet demands with blanco and reposado by February,” Milliken said in a press release. “We want our customers to know this upset will have no effect on pricing.”

In early January, a series of launch parties are planned at restaurants in the Wilmington area, including at Catch (with chef Keith Rhodes who has a special Mexican menu planned) and at Tequila Comida & Cantina with owners Miguel and Ramón Villaseñor. Others are in the works for King Neptune restaurant and Lumina resort in Wrightsville Beach.

"We will change the flavor and tone of it," Bloomquist said. "Thieves will not damper our celebration... I am disgusted but unwavering in my commitment to this launch in North Carolina."

He added that he plans to visit Mexico again before the end of the year to bring more bottles of the reposado to market. And a launch of anejo tequila launch is planned for later in 2024.

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Allison Ballard is the food and dining reporter at the StarNews. You can reach her at aballard@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Tequila stolen from Wrightsville Beach, NC, spirits brand Daytoon Distributors