A man has been indicted for trafficking drugs in Stockton along with two other co-defendants, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of California said.
Carlos Daniel Gastelum Bustamante, 25, a Mexican national, was charged Thursday with conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.
Bustamante and two others, Jiovanni Eleazor Paco, 25, of Modesto and Brayan Missael Mendoza, 22, of Sacramento are accused of distributing thousands of counterfeit “M30” pills containing fentanyl on behalf of a source in Mexico.
In December 2022, Bustamante allegedly sold over 2,000 M30s in Stockton. Then on May 2 of this year, Bustamante was pulled over by the California Highway Patrol in the Stockton area, and the officer allegedly found 5,530 M30 pills and 1 pound of methamphetamine in his vehicle.
In September 2022, Mendoza allegedly sold over 1,000 M30 pills in Sacramento and Paco is accused of selling about 3,000 counterfeit M30s. Paco allegedly was also found with 8,000 pills during a traffic stop. If convicted, each man is facing 10 years to life in federal prison.
