The Colorful Story of Castaway Cay

By the 1980s, Gorda Cay had become notorious. Various newspapers reported that people who once owned parts of the island were no longer welcome, and were being chased away by men with large guns and even larger Dobermans. Residents claimed that they saw up to six planes a day landing on the airstrip.

This dark time in the island's history can be attributed to Frank Barber, an American who lived in Florida. He was secretly using the runway himself for years to smuggle drugs into the country, and turned out to be behind the 'private company' that bought Alvin Tucker's land. Now that the island was largely his, Barber began to operate his own little drug empire exclusively on Gorda Cay.

Aside from his illegal activities, Barber rented out the airstrip to other smugglers looking to bring their goods into the country.

Barber also had plans to turn part of the island into a resort for tourists.

In 1983, there was a bust on the island involving $100 million dollars worth of cocaine.

He was sentenced to five years, but died in prison before he could serve his time.

>www.disneydispatch.com/content/columns/the-626/2011/04-the-colorful-story-of-castaway-cay/