Hazleton Drug Dealer Sentenced For Methamphetamine Trafficking

Wednesday, June 18, 2025, 6:30 A.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News

SCRANTON, PA.- A 33-year-old former Hazleton, Pennsylvania, man who fled the United States to avoid apprehension was sentenced last Thursday to over twelve years in federal prison for selling methamphetamine to a federal undercover Investigator on two separate occasions back in 2021.

     On Thursday, June 12, 2025, Brian Castillo, 33, formerly of Hazelton, Pennsylvania, appeared in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania and was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Court Judge Robert D. Mariani to 151 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to Distribution of a Controlled Substance, Methamphetamine.

According To Acting U.S. Attorney John C. Gurganus

     According to Acting U.S. Attorney John C. Gurganus and charging documents filed with the District Court, during an investigation into illicit narcotics distribution within Hazleton, Pennsylvania, on August 20, 2021, and September 10, 2021, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Agents made two controlled purchases from Castillo in Hazleton, Pennsylvania.

     Specifically, on August 20, 2021, Castillo sold 42 grams of methamphetamine to the undercover Agent in exchange for $1,000, and on September 10, 2021, Castillo again sold the undercover Agent 55 grams of methamphetamine for $1,000.

     Before he could be taken into custody, Castillo fled the United States after learning he was under investigation. He was later taken into custody on July 8, 2024, when he attempted to reenter the United States. On February 21, 2025, Castillo appeared in Federal Court in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and pleaded guilty to one of the counts unsealed in the federal indictment.