Mexican Man Sentenced in Washington State Drug Ring Involving Aryan Prison Gang

((U.S. Attorney's Office))

SEATTLE – A former Mexican lawyer has been sentenced to more than seven years in prison for his role in a drug trafficking ring linked to an Aryan prison gang.

The U.S. Attorney's Office (USAO) announced that on Friday, Gustavo Castellanos-Tapia, 38, of Burien, was sentenced to 90 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. Castellanos-Tapia was indicted along with 23 others in March 2023 for trafficking methamphetamine, fentanyl, cocaine and heroin in Washington.

According to court documents, Castellanos-Tapia was previously a lawyer in Mexico before traveling to the United States illegally in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic when work slowed. He worked briefly as a boat painter, then turned to drug trafficking to earn extra money.

Unlike his co-conspirators, lawyers say Castellanos-Tapia was not a drug user.

During their investigation, detectives conducted surveillance on Castellanos-Tapia and learned that he was delivering suitcases containing 30 to 40 pounds of methamphetamine every few weeks.

Agents seized approximately 255 pounds of methamphetamine, 830,000 fentanyl pills, 26 pounds of fentanyl powder, cocaine, six pounds of heroin, $668,000 in drug money and 225 firearms.

“Drugs like the methamphetamine distributed by Castellanos-Tapia have a devastating impact on the community,” wrote prosecutors, who requested a nine-year prison sentence. “People who use these drugs often resort to stealing — from family members, friends, and complete strangers — to support their addiction. There is no doubt that drug users are responsible for a high percentage of these crimes, as well as violent crimes, in our communities.”

Castellanos-Tapia will likely be deported after his prison sentence, prosecutors say, because he was in the United States illegally

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