CONCORD, N.H. — A Dominican man has pleaded guilty in federal court to distributing methamphetamine in New Hampshire, U.S. Attorney Erin Creegan said Friday.
Ariel Castillo-Solano a/k/a Jose Antonio Santiago, 36, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, specifically methamphetamine, Creegan said in a statement.
U.S. District Court Chief Judge Samantha Elliot scheduled Castillo-Solano’s sentencing for June 18.
According to the court documents and statements made in court, beginning in early 2024, the DEA began an investigation into an unknown individual who was selling multiple-ounce quantities of methamphetamine in the Rochester, New Hampshire area.
During the investigation, a DEA cooperating source communicated with Castillo-Solano.
At the time, Castillo-Solano, a citizen of the Dominican Republic, was using the identity of Jose Antonio Santiago, an American citizen from Puerto Rico, prosecutors said.
Between Oct. 21, 2024 and Jan. 10, 2025, the DEA, using a CS and a DEA undercover Task Force Officer, negotiated several sales totaling more than five pounds of methamphetamine from Castillo-Solano, prosecutors said.
Between Jan. 10, 2025 and Jan. 23, 2025, Castillo-Solano arranged to sell the undercover officer an additional 15 pounds of methamphetamine, about 21 ounces cocaine, and 40 grams of fentanyl.
They agreed to a purchase price of $69,000, prosecutors said.
On Jan. 24, 2025, Castillo-Solano met the undercover officer in a parking lot in Seabrook, where Castillo-Solano stated that his “brother,” later identified as Joel Castillo-Soto, would be arriving in an Uber to deliver the product, prosecutors said.
Thereafter, Castillo-Soto arrived and delivered the methamphetamine, cocaine, and fentanyl to the undercover officer, at which point the DEA arrested both Castillo-Solano and Castillo-Soto.
The charges of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance carry a sentence of up to 20 years’ incarceration, not less than 3 years of supervised release, and a fine up to $1,000,000.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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