Man arrested for illegally transporting gasoline

A 44-year-old Hialeah, Florida man was arrested Monday night after he was found to be illegally hauling more than 228 gallons of gasoline in a go-fast boat.

Fernando Jesus Gonzalez Rodriguez was charged with transporting dangerous material/unlawful conveyance of fuel.

Sgt. Joel Slough stopped a black Toyota pickup truck towing a 29-foot Wellcraft Scarab boat at approximately 5:32 p.m. on U.S. 1 near 61st Street in Marathon. The front of the vessel appeared weighed down so much it was causing the rear of the pickup truck to sag excessively. The driver, later identified as Gonzalez Rodriguez, and two passengers, were in the truck. A U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent arrived on scene to assist.

The CBP agent advised the boat’s V-berth was full of illegal fuel drums. And estimated 15 to 20 illegal fuel drums were found holding an estimated 228 to 266 gallons of fuel. A second U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent arrived to assist. Multiple containers of oil were also found.

A large black hose suspected to be a fuel transfer device was located among the fuel containers.

A total of 18 new personal flotation devices were located along with two large coolers packed full of water, Gatorade, mangoes and lunch meat. Three large trash bags were found in the vessel containing multiple bags of apples, crackers and bread. A bag containing two black ski masks, two pairs of black gloves, one black hat, a satellite phone and one GPS unit was also found on the boat.

The registered owner of the truck was not on scene and none of the three inside the truck claimed ownership of the evidence on scene.

Gonzalez Rodriguez was taken to jail.

The two passengers were not charged.

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