East Bay fentanyl kingpin sentenced to 10 years in federal prison
OAKLAND – Javier Castro Banegas-Medina, the head of a major fentanyl drug trafficking organization in the East Bay, has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison.
United States Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds announced the sentencing on Monday ending an investigation that began in 2021 and included what was at the time the largest seizure of fentanyl in the Bay Area.
Castro, 41, and two of his two co-conspirators, Elmer Rosales-Montes, 29, and Jose Ivan Cruz-Caceres, 32, admitted in separate plea agreements to their respective roles in the scheme.
On July 28, Castro entered into a written plea agreement in which he acknowledged that, as the leader of the organization, he conspired with others to distribute more than 22 pounds of fentanyl.
The drug trafficking organization distributed fentanyl from two residences, one located in San Leandro and the other in Oakland, where Castro lived with Rosales-Montes and Cruz-Caceres.
Castro admitted that he and his co-members of the drug trafficking organization fulfilled well over 100 orders for fentanyl between approximately April 21, 2021, and May 19, 2021. During the searches of the residences, investigators recovered nearly 43 pounds of fentanyl -- much of it hidden in fence posts surrounding one of the residences.
Investigators also seized hundreds of rounds of ammunition in multiple calibers, a total of $31,400 in drug trafficking proceeds, as well as other equipment associated with drug distribution including dyes, scales, and blenders.
In addition to the prison term, Castro was ordered to serve four years of supervised release, to begin after his prison term is completed.
Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers also sentenced Rosales-Montes and Cruz-Caceres to 26- and 60-month prison terms, respectively, for their roles in the conspiracy.