Yesterday
• Authorities say he had been deported to Mexico, returned here and was selling illegal drugs.

By RICK CURL

Of The Record Staff

A man residing in the Broadway community was arrested early Tuesday morning on drug-related charges.

According to Harnett County Sheriff’s Maj. Jeff Huber, Mario Castilo Garcia, 37, who was living in a residence on Eric Thomas Street, was taken into custody following a nearly sixmonth long undercover investigation.

He was charged with three counts of trafficking in cocaine and placed in the Harnett County Detention Center on a $200,000 secured bond.

The defendant is also under a hold order by Immigration Control Enforcement. He was previously deported back to his native country of Mexico and illegally re-entered the United States.

Mr. Castillo is accused of selling cocaine totaling nearly 2 1/2 pounds to undercover investigators. The sales took place during 10 separate purchases between September of 2016 and February of 2017.

The street value of the drugs is estimated to be $209,600, according to Maj. Huber.

In addition to the current charges, because of the number of undercover transactions, Maj. Huber indicated to The Daily Record additional charges are expected.

The undercover operation and subsequent arrest of Mr. Garcia came from the work of a multiagency task force that included agents from Harnett County, Moore County and Lee County Sheriff’s offices as well as the Sanford Police Department and North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.



http://www.mydailyrecord.com/eeditio...g-trafficking/