Gustavo Erazo, Fentanyl Trafficking, California 2023

A notorious fentanyl trafficker has finally faced justice after dodging authorities for months. Gustavo Erazo, a 49-year-old Honduran national, has been extradited from Honduras to the United States to face charges stemming from his alleged involvement in a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine in the San Francisco Bay Area.

According to court documents, Erazo was arrested in November 2022 outside an apartment in Berkeley, California. At the time of his arrest, he was carrying a backpack containing nearly four pounds of suspected drugs, including almost a kilogram of suspected fentanyl and more than half a pound each of suspected heroin and suspected cocaine.

Inside the apartment, law enforcement officers found nearly 21 pounds of suspected drugs, including nearly 15 pounds of suspected fentanyl, more than two pounds of suspected cocaine, and more than one pound of suspected heroin. Officers also discovered drug manufacturing equipment, two firearms, ammunition, and cash inside the apartment.

Erazo was charged in a federal grand jury indictment on January 5, 2023, with conspiring to distribute fentanyl and possessing fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine with the intent to distribute those substances. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment and a maximum fine of $10,000,000 on Counts 1 and 2, and a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison and a maximum fine of $5,000,000 on Counts 3 and 4.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) learned after Erazo was charged that he had traveled back to Honduras. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with Honduran authorities and the DEA to secure the arrest and extradition of Erazo, who arrived back in the United States on December 19, 2024.

Erazo appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sallie Kim today for arraignment on the indictment and further proceedings. He is next scheduled to appear in court for a status hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lisa J. Cisneros on December 23, 2024.

An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, Erazo faces a lifetime term of supervised release and a mandatory $100 special assessment on each count.

The extradition of Erazo marks the sixth extradition of an alleged drug trafficker from Honduras to the Northern District of California this year. United States Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey and DEA Special Agent in Charge Bob P. Beris made the announcement.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Parker is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Jessie Chelsea and Linda Love. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the DEA, with assistance from the San Francisco Police Department.

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