Another safe has been found on the property late Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar in Miami Beach, near a mansion that was believed to be used for a stash house.
While he was using an excavator, construction worker Miguel Mato found the safe hidden in the concrete foundation, in the last wall to be knocked down. The combination-locked safe is two feet by two feet and weighs hundreds of pounds.
Originally, the property owner, Christian de Berdouare, didn’t believe Mato found a safe in the mansion that belonged to “El Patron”.
“I told the owner, ‘Look there’s a safe,”‘ said Mato. “And he thought I was messing with him, and I said, ‘No there’s a safe for real.”‘
Escobar, nicknamed “El Patrón”, which means “The Boss”, bought the property in March 1980 for $762,500, according to Miami-Dade County public records. Pablo Escobar’s name is listed in a document transferring ownership of the property.
The U.S. government seized the property in 1987 and in 1990, it was acquired by a private owner. The mansion had four bedrooms, six bathrooms, a pool and garage. It sat vacant for years after it was heavily damaged by a fire.
Escobar’s cocaine cartel fueled murderous drug wars in South Florida that left the streets littered with competing, dead dealers.