Big catch? Tampa mayor finds 70 pounds of cocaine while fishing with family
Jane Castor, the incumbent mayor of Tampa, Florida, was spending quality time with her family in the Florida Keys when they spotted a black microwave-sized package bobbing on the water. Turns out, the package contains 70 pounds of cocaine worth $1.1 million (P62 million).
It all happened on a Sunday in late July, according to the Tampa Bay Times. Castor was out mahi-mahi fishing when her younger brother Kelly pointed to the strange package.
As a former police who spent three decades in the Tampa Police Department, Castor had no trouble identifying the mysterious package as it came closer to their boat. "Cocaine!" she said
The family hauled the package into their boat and began unwrapping its layers of plastic. True enough, beneath the secure packaging were bricks of cocaine.
Castor then docked the boat and called the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office to inform them of the package. It was later taken away by two federal agents.
Over the weekend, Border Patrol agents in the Miami Sector seized 70 lbs. of cocaine that was discovered by a recreational boater in the #FloridaKeys. The drugs have an estimated street value of approx. $1.1 million dollars. #miami #florida #drugbust #Mondaymorning pic.twitter.com/etaiuwXrcK
— Chief Patrol Agent Walter N. Slosar (@USBPChiefMIP) July 24, 2023
The haul was later confirmed by the US Border Patrol to be 25 bricks of cocaine weighing a total of 70 pounds and roughly costing around $1.1 million (P62 million).
Castor's involvement in the case was initially omitted and reduced to a "recreational boater" by the US Border Patrol after its discovery on July 24.
