Blow Inspiration George Jung Dies Aged 78

George Jung, the former drug smuggler who inspired the film Blow, has died aged 78.

Jung smuggled vast quantities of cocaine into the USA during the '70s and '80s, and he was released from prison in 2014 after serving almost 20 years behind bars.

At the height of his powers, Jung - often known as Boston George - made millions working with Pablo Escobar and the Medellín Cartel to fly planeloads of coke into the US.

His story was told in the 2001 biopic Blow, starring Johnny Depp.

A post on his Instagram account confirmed that he died in his hometown of Weymouth, Massachusetts.

Jung learnt about cocaine smuggling from a fellow inmate in Danbury prison in Connecticut, where he was incarcerated for smuggling marijuana.

Meeting this inmate had a huge impact on the US, as he subsequently went on to play a key role in the Medellín Cartel drug smuggling operation, which accounted for up to 90 percent of the coke smuggled into the country. No wonder then he described himself as the 'high priest of cocaine'.

Speaking about turning 76 in 2018, Jung credited his time in prison for keeping him alive.

He told VICE: "I didn't think I'd get to 76. I hate to say this, but if I didn't go to prison for 20 years, I probably wouldn't have made it to 76.

"I feel like a teenager sometimes when I'm hanging around the beach looking at the girls. But at my age looking at the girls is kind of like having a Ferrari with no engine in it.

"Getting old is not fun."

Tributes to 'one of a kind' Jung are being shared on social media:

RIP

Topics: World News, Celebrity

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey