Dominican Man Sentenced to Eight Years in Federal Prison for Participation in Cocaine Trafficking Organization While Serving State Sentence

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - A citizen of the Dominican Republic who entered the United States illegally has been sentenced in federal court to eight years of imprisonment, to be followed by four years of federal supervised release, on his drug trafficking conviction, United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.

United States District Judge William S. Stickman IV imposed the sentence on Santos Castro-Mota, 46.

According to information presented to the Court, a joint investigation by federal, state, and local law enforcement operating under the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, determined that Aliquippa drug trafficker Kijana Lowe frequently communicated with Castro-Mota while Castro-Mota was serving a five-to-ten year sentence at State Correctional Institution Phoenix (Collegeville, Pennsylvania) on a drug trafficking conviction. Recordings of calls between Lowe and Castro-Mota revealed that Lowe would order kilogram quantities of cocaine from Castro-Mota, with the defendants referring to a kilogram of cocaine as a "white car." After Castro-Mota negotiated the sale with Lowe, Castro-Mota would then direct a co-defendant, who Castro-Mota referred to as "the mechanic," to deliver the controlled substances to Lowe. The investigation established that Lowe would then supply the drugs to another co-defendant, Anthony Tusweet Smith Jr., who would subsequently sell them to end users.

In November 2021, investigators learned that an in-person delivery of kilogram quantities of cocaine was planned to Lowe in the Western District of Pennsylvania, and, during a surveillance operation, observed Lowe accept a suitcase outside of a Coraopolis motel. Law enforcement detained the individuals involved and executed search warrants on the suitcase, a motel room, and Lowe's vehicle. The suitcase contained nearly 10 kilograms of cocaine, while Lowe's vehicle contained over $280,000 that was to be used to purchase the seized cocaine. In conjunction with the interdiction, law enforcement obtained search warrants for cell phones found in the possession of Lowe and a co-defendant ("the mechanic"), with digital extractions from these devices revealing numerous communications and photographs between the conspirators regarding their drug trafficking activity, in addition to Castro-Mota's involvement in the conspiracy.

Prior to imposing sentence, Judge Stickman emphasized that Castro-Mota entered the country illegally and then engaged in drug trafficking. Judge Stickman stated that Castro-Mota learned "absolutely nothing" from his prior sentence and observed that Castro-Mota has nothing but disregard for the laws of the United States. Finding that Castro-Mota served as the "point person for the distribution of an enormous amount" of drugs into the district, the judge also denied Castro-Mota's request to have his federal sentence run concurrent to his undischarged state sentence, explaining to the defendant that "Repeat offenders don't get a discount; they get an enhancement."

Following the completion of his sentence, Castro-Mota will be deported from the United States.

Judge Stickman previously sentenced Castro-Mota's co-defendants Kijana Lowe to 10 years of imprisonment and Anthony Tusweet Smith Jr. to five years of imprisonment for their roles in the conspiracy.

Assistant United States Attorney Brendan J. McKenna and Special Assistant United States Attorney Kara Cotter prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

United States Attorney Rivetti commended the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General and Drug Enforcement Administration for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Castro-Mota and his co-conspirators.