LA Trafficker ‘Benji’ Sentenced to 12 Years for Meth Import Scheme

LA Trafficker ‘Benji’ Sentenced to 12 Years for Meth Import Scheme

May 17, 2024 – SAN DIEGO – Fernando Castro Bazan, a 32-year-old Los Angeles-based drug trafficker, was caged for 12 years in federal prison today for leading a methamphetamine importation scheme that preyed on vulnerable college-age drivers.

The racket, which used the gas tanks of rental cars to smuggle the deadly drug, was busted in 2021. Castro Bazan, aka ‘Benji’ or ‘Benji Banks,’ started employing drivers as young as 18 years old, luring them with promises of easy cash and ‘all-expenses-paid trips to Mexico.’

A number of the young drivers, now saddled with federal felony convictions, were arrested at the border and convicted of drug trafficking or related offenses. U.S. District Judge Jinsook Ohta called Castro Bazan’s actions ‘catastrophic and terrible’ in their impact on the lives of the young people involved.

“Not only did this defendant import staggering amounts of a deadly drug into our community, he took advantage of vulnerable young people who failed to appreciate the tremendous risk involved,” said U.S. Attorney Tara McGrath. “He turned college-age kids into traffickers and will serve a significant sentence for it.”

Castro Bazan is also facing additional drug charges in the Eastern District of California for his role in a separate distribution conspiracy that used couriers to deliver narcotics directly to buyers in Northern California.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert J. Miller and Shivanjali A. Sewak. Castro Bazan’s sentence of 12 years in prison caps a sordid chapter in the city’s ongoing struggle with the scourge of methamphetamine trafficking.

Defendant Information: Fernando Castro Bazan, 32, Los Angeles, CA

Charges: Conspiracy to Import Methamphetamine (Title 21, U.S.C., Sections 952, 960 and 963) – Maximum penalty: Life in prison and $10 million fine, Minimum penalty: Ten years in prison

Investigating Agency: Homeland Security Investigations