Stockton Drug Trafficker Sentenced to Over 16 Years in Prison

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Miguel Castellanos Huitron, (aka Efrain Tavarez Lopez) 52, of Stockton, was sentenced today to 16 years and six months in prison for conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, Huitron operated a drug trafficking organization in the Stockton-Tracy area. At Huitron’s direction, members of the conspiracy distributed more than 4 kilograms of methamphetamine to confidential sources between April 2009 and December 2009. Huitron employed at least five people to deliver methamphetamine on his behalf. In late 2009, Huitron left the United States to spend the Christmas holiday in Mexico and remained there until 2017. Huitron continued directing and receiving money from the organization while in Mexico, until his drug trafficking organization was ultimately dismantled in 2010. He was arrested in September 2017.

This case was the product of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorney Heiko P. Coppola prosecuted the case.