Martin Castillo-Tovar of Mexico, who was residing in Fayetteville, Arkansas, was sentenced to 15 years in the United States Bureau of Prisons for trafficking methamphetamine in Fayetteville.
Additionally, Castillo-Tovar was ordered to pay $2,000 in fines and associated court fees and to be supervised by the United States Probation Office for five years after release from prison. The Honorable Judge Timothy L. Brooks presided over the sentencing hearing in the United States District Court in Fayetteville today.
According to court records, Castillo-Tovar was charged by Indictment on September 12, 2018 with six counts of drug-trafficking related charges, including the distribution of methamphetamine and possessing additional methamphetamine with the intent to later distribute it. Castillo-Tovar was convicted on December 12, 2018 of selling 55.8 grams of methamphetamine to a DEA informant on June 14, 2018.
Cumulatively, the DEA’s investigation into Castillo-Tovar resulted in the seizure of over a pound of methamphetamine and a shotgun with an illegally-modified barrel.
This prosecution was part of the Western District of Arkansas’ “Operation Ozark Express,” which is part of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program. The OCDETF program is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s drug supply reduction strategy. OCDETF was established in 1982 to conduct comprehensive, multilevel attacks on major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations.
Today, OCDETF combines the resources and expertise of its member federal agencies in cooperation with state and local law enforcement. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illicit drug supply.
This OCDETF case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration in Fayetteville, Arkansas and the Fayetteville Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Brandon Carter prosecuted the case for the Western District of Arkansas.
