George Jung, cocaine smuggler who inspired Johnny Depps Blow, dies at 78

George Jung, the cocaine smuggler portrayed by Johnny Depp in the movie “Blow” died at 78 on Wednesday at his home in Boston, media reports said. The cause of his death is still not clear but, according to some reports, he had liver and kidney complications.

George Jung, according to TMZ, took his last breath in the company of his wife and friend.

A quote was posted from Jung’s Twitter handle soon after the news broke out, which is a quote from the film ‘Blow’, based on Jung’s life. “May the wind always be at your back and the sun upon your face, and the winds of destiny carry you aloft to dance with the stars. 1942-2021,” the post read.

Often referred to as “Boston George”, George Jung served 20 years in prison for smuggling drugs. Within two years of his release in 2016, he was again sent to jail for violating his parole. He failed to inform the parole officer that he would be leaving the city, which is one of the terms of parole.

Jung was one of the famous names involved in the Medellin Cartel. He assisted Pablo Escobar in smuggling planeloads of cocaine into the US.

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His story became so famous that it was ultimately written in the book “Blow: How a Small-town boy made $100Million with the Medellin Cocaine Cartel and Lost it all”. In 2001, the movie ‘Blow’ was released starring Johnny Depp and Penelope Cruz.