Tampa Mayor Jane Castor caught 70 pounds of cocaine, worth an estimated street value of $1.1 million, while on a fishing trip with her family in late July, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
Castor was fishing off the Middle Keys city of Marathon when she and her brother, Kelly Castor, saw what appeared to be a black package in the water, the Times reported Tuesday. The mayor identified the package and contacted the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, leading to two border patrol agents confirming the boaters had found narcotics.
Castor previously spent three decades working for the Tampa Police Department, including eight years in narcotics and six as the police chief, according to the Times. (EXCLUSIVE: Border Patrol Agents In One Blue State Have Seen An Explosion In Smuggling Activities, Docs Show)
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
This was not the first time narcotics have been found in the island chain’s waters, according to the Times.
Boaters stumbled upon 87 pounds of hashish offshore in a city in the middle of the Keys earlier in July, and another group of boaters found 62 pounds of cocaine the same day, the outlet reported, citing the Border Patrol. A three-pound bale of marijuana was found in the Upper Keys one week before Castor’s discovery.
The day before the mayor’s find, an individual spotted an eight-pound bale of marijuana floating near the Lower Keys. A brick of cocaine weighing 2.7 pounds was found one week later, the Times reported.