Brian Hamacher

Miami Man Caught With Illegal Fuel Tank in Truck: FHP

A Miami man is facing charges after authorities say he was caught with an illegal fuel tank in his truck and numerous gift cards.

Maykel Martinez-Castano, 29, was arrested Thursday on charges including possession of a vehicle with an illegal tank, fraudulently obtaining fuel and trafficking in counterfeit credit cards, according to an arrest report.

The report said Florida Highway Patrol troopers spotted Martinez-Castano driving a Ford F-250 pickup truck out of a gas station in the area of Southwest 8th Street near State Road 826 and stopped him for having a tail light out.

The troopers noticed the truck had a fuel tank in a cargo area that was concealed by a tool box, the report said. The troopers also spotted two gift cards on a door panel, then found another five gift cards in a hidden compartment and six others under the center console, the report said.

"Based on my training and experience the hidden compartments are usually used to conceal/hide large amount of credit cards and it usually is consistent with credit card fraud," a trooper wrote in the report.

Martinez-Castano was arrested and booked into jail, where he was being on $17,500 bond Friday, records showed. Attorney information wasn't available.

Contact Us