Mexican national indicted and arrested on 'Kingpin' drug trafficking charges from Homeland Security Task Force investigation

Date: June 25, 2026

Contact: [email protected]

Tucson, AZ - Jorge Luis Castro-Mercado of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, was arrested earlier this month by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Nogales Special Agents as he tried to cross the border into the United States from Mexico. Castro-Mercado faces federal charges related to drug trafficking from an indictment in March.

On March 11, a federal grand jury in Tucson returned a 12-count indictment against Castro-Mercado, for operating a Continuing Criminal Enterprise; Conspiracy to Distribute Fentanyl and Methamphetamine; Conspiracy to Import Fentanyl and Methamphetamine; Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments; three counts of Possession with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl, Aiding and Abetting; three counts of Importation of Fentanyl; Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine, Aiding and Abetting, and Importation of Methamphetamine.

The indictment alleges that Castro-Mercado was a principal leader of a drug trafficking enterprise that involved the importation and distribution of dangerous drugs into the United States from Mexico. The law that prohibits the operation of a continuing criminal enterprise is known as the "kingpin" statute. As charged in the indictment, this crime carries a mandatory penalty of life in prison.

This investigation is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States.

HSTF Tucson comprises agents and officers from HSI, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE-ERO), U.S. Border Patrol, the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Marshals Service, IRS-Criminal Investigation, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Secret Service, the Bureau of Land Management, Arizona Department of Public Safety, Tucson Police Department, Pima County Sheriff's Office, Oro Valley Police Department, Marana Police Department, and Arizona HIDTA. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael R. Lizano, District of Arizona, is handling the prosecution.

IRS-CI is the law enforcement arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. It is the only federal law enforcement agency with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code. IRS-CI has 18 field offices located across the U.S. and maintains an international presence through attaché posts abroad.