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According to court documents, Castro Bazan sold and attempted to sell an undercover officer methamphetamine on three separate occasions. On July 15, 2021, Castro Bazan, who then resided in Los Angeles, sent a courier to Roseville to deliver 20 pounds of methamphetamine to the undercover officer. On August 12, 2021, Castro Bazan sent a different courier to deliver five pounds of methamphetamine to the undercover officer. Finally, in September of 2021, Castro Bazan promised to sell the undercover officer another 30 pounds of methamphetamine. The following day, law enforcement executed a search warrant of the defendant’s stash house and seized 31 pounds of methamphetamine.
On June 30, 2022, while on pretrial release for this case, Castro Bazan was arrested for a separate federal case in San Diego. That case involved his use of drivers to transport drugs for a Tijuana-based drug trafficking organization. Using his status as a club promoter and amateur musician, Castro Bazan hired numerous college-aged drivers, luring them with the prospect of easy money and “all-expenses-paid trips to Mexico.” A number of the young drivers Castro Bazan employed were arrested at the border and convicted of drug trafficking or related offenses. They now have federal felony convictions on their records. Castro Bazan remained in federal custody during the pendency of the San Diego case, and ultimately pleaded guilty to conspiracy and importation of methamphetamine into the United States. On May 17, 2024, a federal judge in San Diego sentenced him to 12 years in prison. After being sentenced in San Diego, Castro Bazan was transported to the Eastern District to face his sentence in this case.
This case was the product of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Tri-County Drug Enforcement Team with assistance from the California Highway Patrol, the LAFD HIDTA Group 48, the LA IMPACT Group 1, the Rialto Police Department Narcotics Unit, and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adrian T. Kinsella prosecuted the case.