Tampa Mayor Jane Castor reels in a 70-pound package of cocaine — worth $1.1 million — while fishing in the Florida Keys with her family
- Jane Castor, 62, spent 31 years with the Tampa Police Department, became chief before retiring in 2015 and running for mayor in 2019
- In late July, she was fishing with her brother Kelly, 61, off the coast of Marathon, Florida Keys, when they found a 70-pound package of cocaine and called the sheriffs.
- The catch was the fifth drug shipment found off the Florida Keys that month: Bales of marijuana and packages of cocaine have been found regularly
The mayor of Tampa has described a fishing trip with her family off the Florida Keys that resulted in a surprise catch: a 70-pound package of cocaine.
Jane Castor was fishing for mahi-mahi with her brother Kelly, 61; her son and his girlfriend at the end of July.
The 62-year-old said she had been making the annual fishing trip to the Keys for nearly a decade.
Castor spent 31 years with the Tampa Police Department, becoming a chief before retiring in 2015 and becoming mayor in 2019.
She said her brother saw the black plastic package, about the size of a microwave, floating in the water.
Castor knew right away it was cocaine.
Jane Castor was spotted watching Tampa Bay Buccaneers practice last year. In late July, she went fishing in the Florida Keys and reeled in a surprise catch
Castor found the microwave-sized bundle floating off the coast of Marathon
They dragged the package onto the boat and headed for the harbor near the town of Marathon, on Middle Key, calling the local sheriffs along the way.
Upon arrival, they were met by Monroe County Sheriff’s deputies and then two federal agents who confiscated the loot.
Walter Slosar, chief patrol officer of the Border Patrol’s Miami sector, posted a photo of the loot on Twitter, revealing 25 blocks of cocaine, each decorated with a blue and purple butterfly.
The drugs were worth $1.1 million and the capture was the fifth that month.
The previous weekend, a person found a three-pound bale of marijuana in a boat near Islamorada in the Upper Keys.
Earlier that month, boaters discovered 87 kilograms of hash off the coast of Marathon.
That same day, another saw 62 kilos of cocaine wrapped in bricks decorated with pictures of the Eiffel Tower.
The day before, an 8-pound bale of marijuana was found about 13 miles northwest of Big Pine Key in the Lower Keys.
The Border Patrol in Miami shared a photo of the package Castor fished out of the water
And the discoveries kept coming: In early August, someone found a block of cocaine weighing 2.7 pounds.
The Florida Keys have long been a popular hub for drug smuggling given its proximity to Latin America.
The latest report from the Drugs Enforcement Agency, from 2022states that the area is “a major US drug trafficking and money laundering region.”
“Its geographic connection to the Americas, the Caribbean countries and the Bahamas, along with its multicultural background, make it a preferred portal for illicit drugs entering the U.S. to supply local, state and other U.S. drug markets.”
Cocaine seized in South Florida accounts for 19 percent of the US total.