A Mexican man, Jorge Luis Castro-Mercado, has been arrested by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Nogales Special Agents as he tried to cross the border into the United States from Mexico.
Castro-Mercado faces federal charges related to drug trafficking from an indictment in March.
According to the Department of Justice, on March 11, a federal grand jury in Tucson returned a 12-count indictment against Castro-Mercado, for operating a Continuing Criminal Enterprise; Conspiracy to Distribute Fentanyl and Methamphetamine; Conspiracy to Import Fentanyl and Methamphetamine; Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments; three counts of Possession with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl, Aiding and Abetting; three counts of Importation of Fentanyl; Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine, Aiding and Abetting, and Importation of Methamphetamine.
The indictment alleges that Castro-Mercado, age 51 of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico,
was a principal leader of a drug trafficking enterprise that involved the importation and distribution of dangerous drugs into the United States from Mexico. The law that prohibits the operation of a continuing criminal enterprise is known as the “kingpin” statute. As charged in the indictment, this crime carries a mandatory penalty of life in prison.
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