Police: Attorney tried to smuggle cocaine into Palm Beach County Jail

An area attorney has been charged with drug offenses after police say he tried to smuggle cocaine-soaked documents, disguised as legal papers, into the Palm Beach County Jail. 

David Casals, a Fort Lauderdale-based criminal defense attorney who practices in Palm Beach and Broward counties, was charged with trafficking in cocaine, delivery of cocaine and introduction of contraband into a county facility, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said Friday. 

The office said an arrest warrant for Casals was drawn up after “an extensive investigation, testing, interviews and search warrants.”  

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Casals turned himself in Friday to the county jail, where he was booked on the charges and later released on $58,000 bond, deputies said. 

Casals has his own firm in Fort Lauderdale, and has been practicing since 2000. He is a 1999 graduate of Nova Southeastern University's Shepard Broad School of Law, according to his Florida Bar profile.