Tampa Mayor Jane Castor hauls in a package containing 70 pounds of cocaine – valued at $1.1 million – while fishing with her family in the Florida Keys
- Jane Castor, 62, spent 31 years in the Tampa Police Department, rising to the rank of chief before retiring in 2015 and becoming mayor in 2019
- In late July, she was fishing with her brother Kelly, 61, outside of the Florida Keys town of Marathon when they found a 70-pound bag of cocaine and called the sheriffs
- The shipment was the fifth drug shipment found off the Florida Keys this month: bales of marijuana and packets of cocaine were regularly found
The Mayor of Tampa has described a family fishing trip off the Florida Keys that resulted in a surprise catch: a 70-pound bag of cocaine.
Jane Castor fished for mahi-mahi with her brother Kelly, 61; her son and his girlfriend at the end of July.
The 62-year-old said she’s been taking the annual fishing trip to the Keys for nearly a decade.
Castor spent 31 years in the Tampa Police Department, rising to the rank of police chief before retiring in 2015 and becoming mayor in 2019.
She said her brother spotted the microwave-sized black plastic wrapper bobbing in the water.
Castor knew immediately it was cocaine.
Jane Castor can be seen training with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last year. In late July, she went fishing in the Florida Keys and made a surprising catch
Castor found the microwave-sized bundle off the coast near Marathon
They lugged the package onto the boat and made their way to the dock near the town of Marathon on Middle Key – calling local sheriffs along the way.
Upon arrival, they were met by deputies to the Monroe County Sheriff and then by two federal agents, who seized the loot.
Walter Slosar, chief officer in the Miami sector of the Border Patrol, posted a picture of the loot on Twitter, which showed 25 cocaine bricks, each decorated with a blue and purple butterfly.
The drugs were valued at $1.1 million and it was the fifth shipment this month.
Last weekend, a person found a three-pound bale of marijuana on a boat off Islamorada in the Upper Keys.
Earlier this month, boaters discovered 87 pounds of hash off the coast of Marathon.
The same day, another discovered 62 pounds of cocaine wrapped in bricks decorated with pictures of the Eiffel Tower.
The day before, an 8-pound bale of marijuana was found floating about 13 miles northwest of Big Pine Key in the Lower Keys.
Miami Border Patrol shared a photo of the package Castor fished out of the water
And the discoveries continued: in early August, a human found a 2.7-pound block of cocaine.
Because of its proximity to Latin America, the Florida Keys have long been a popular drug smuggling hub.
The latest 2022 Drugs Enforcement Agency report said the area is “a major drug trafficking and money laundering region in the United States.”
“Its geographic connection to the Americas, the Caribbean and the Bahamas, and its multicultural background make it a gateway of choice for illicit drugs entering the United States to supply local, state and other drug markets in the United States.”
Cocaine seized in the South Florida region accounts for 19 percent of the US total.