Salvador Castro Jr., Methamphetamine Trafficking, California 2021

Fresno, California Resident Sentenced to 17.5 Years in Prison for Leading Drug Trafficking Ring

Fresno, CA – Salvador Castro Jr., 51, of Fresno, was sentenced to 17 years and six months in prison for conspiring to sell over 500 grams of methamphetamine, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert.

The sentencing was handed down today by U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd in connection with Operation Red Reaper, a federal, state, and local law enforcement operation aimed at dismantling the Nuestra Familia Prison Gang in the counties of Kings and Tulare.

Castro, a high-ranking member of the Nuestra Familia prison gang, used contraband cellphones from inside his cell in Pleasant Valley State Prison to organize and lead a group of Norteno street gang members in Kings and Tulare Counties.

According to court documents, Castro recruited gang members, encouraged them to commit robberies, and coordinated the transportation, delivery, and resale of pounds of cocaine and methamphetamine.

Castro pleaded guilty on January 12, 2021. Judge Drozd ordered that his federal sentence be served consecutive to the state sentence he had been serving when he committed the offense.

The case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Kings County Gang Task Force, the Special Operations Unit of the California Department of Justice and the California Highway Patrol, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and the Kings County District Attorney’s Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Justin J. Gilio, Katherine E. Schuh, and Kimberly A. Sanchez are prosecuting the case.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach.

Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

Mandatory Facts:

• Defendant/Respondent: Salvador Castro Jr.
• Criminal Charges: Conspiring to Sell Over 500 Grams of Methamphetamine
• City and State: Fresno, California
• Exact Date: January 12, 2021
• Sentence: 17 Years and Six Months in Prison

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