HILLSBOROUGH, Fla. (WWSB) – A man is facing oxycodone trafficking charges after authorities say he disembarked from a cruise ship in Tampa with hundreds of pills and nearly $27,000 in cash.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said its Opioid Overdose Investigations Section, working with the Department of Homeland Security Investigations Maritime Task Force, wrapped up a months-long probe that began when 50-year-old Brandan Swan returned to Port Tampa Bay on March 19 from a cruise to Cozumel, Mexico.
According to investigators, ship personnel reported Swan was highly intoxicated and in need of medical attention as he left the vessel.
After receiving treatment, officials said Swan was contacted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents, admitted ingesting pills, and was found with more pills in his luggage.
A declaration he provided before his bags were examined listed nearly $27,000 in U.S. currency and 545 unidentified pills, authorities said. Homeland Security agents seized the pills in April and sent them for testing.
In August, lab results identified the substances as alprazolam, commonly known as Xanax, and oxycodone, according to the sheriff’s office. Detectives said Swan did not have a valid prescription for either drug.
An arrest warrant was issued Oct. 8 after HCSO and the HSI Maritime Task Force accepted jurisdiction in the case. Swan was taken into custody Oct. 10 in Orange County and is awaiting extradition to Hillsborough County, officials said.
He is charged with trafficking in oxycodone between 100 grams and 30 kilograms and possession of a Schedule IV controlled substance with intent to sell or deliver.
“We will not allow drug traffickers to use our ports or our community as a gateway to distribute dangerous controlled substances,” Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said in a statement. “Our partnership with HSI sends a clear message: Hillsborough County is not a place to conduct illegal drug activity without consequences.”
The sheriff’s public affairs office said it will release further updates as the investigation continues.
Copyright 2026 WWSB. All rights reserved.