Description: Corpus Christi, Texas criminal defense lawyer represented defendant charged with possession with intend to distribute drugs.

Matthew Ethan Joseph Castillo, age 21, admitted he knowingly attempted to smuggle the narcotics past a U.S. Border Patrol (BP) checkpoint.

On Sept. 29, 2021, Castillo was traveling on a Tornado commercial passenger bus that entered the primary inspection area of the checkpoint near Falfurrias. There, a service canine alerted to a specific piece of luggage in the lower compartment of the bus. Authorities identified Castillo as the owner.

They searched the item and found two wooden tortilla presses, each containing two bundles of cocaine. They had been individually wrapped in carbon paper and coffee and sealed in plastic.

The drugs had an estimated street value of more than $300,000.

Castillo has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation with the assistance of BP. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Marck prosecuted the case.

CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE - SELL, DISTRIBUTE, OR DISPENSE
(1)

Outcome: Defendant was sentenced to 36 months CBOP; $100 Special Assessment; 3 years of Supervised Release; Substance Abuse Treatment and Testing; Alcohol Abuse Treatment and Abstinence.

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