A Peruvian citizen has admitted to importing cocaine into the United States, according to court documents. José Luis Castillo Rojas, 43, who worked for an airport services company at Washington Dulles International Airport, pleaded guilty in Alexandria, Virginia. Castillo Rojas had a Special Access Seal allowing him unescorted access to customs security areas at the airport.
On April 24, Castillo Rojas arrived at Dulles on COPA Airlines Flight 404 from Tocumen International Airport in Panama City with a cargo bag and a backpack. Customs and Border Patrol officers found multiple packages of cocaine totaling 1.95 kilograms and over $54,000 in counterfeit U.S. currency during an inspection of his cargo bag. A cellphone inspection revealed text messages discussing the retrieval of the cargo bag from someone in Peru and payment for its delivery in the U.S.
Castillo Rojas is set to be sentenced on November 6 and faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years, with a maximum potential sentence of up to 40 years in prison. Sentences for federal crimes are usually less than the maximum penalties. The final sentence will be determined by a federal district court judge after considering U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The announcement was made by Erik S. Siebert, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Christopher Heck, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (ICE HSI) Washington, D.C., following U.S. District Judge Michael S. Nachmanoff’s acceptance of the plea.
Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lyndi McVey and David Lubitz along with Assistant U.S. Attorney Jordan Harvey are prosecuting the case.
Information from this article can be found here.
