Pasadena Man and Two Others Indicted for Fentanyl Trafficking

A Pasadena man and two other suspects are facing federal charges for allegedly distributing thousands of counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid, across California. 

U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert and Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Brian M. Clark announced the pills were disguised as M30, a brand of oxycodone, and were sourced from Mexico.

Talbert and Clark identified the three defendants as Carlos Daniel Gastelum Bustamante, 25, a Mexican national residing in Pasadena; Jiovanni Eleazar Paco, 25, of Modesto; and Brayan Missael Nunez Mendoza, 22, of Sacramento. 

The three defendants were indicted by a federal grand jury on Sept. 1 on seven counts of drug trafficking offenses.

According to the indictment, the defendants conspired to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl, para-fluorofentanyl (a fentanyl analogue), and methamphetamine. Each defendant is also charged with distribution of fentanyl. 

Bustamante is additionally charged with possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine, and Paco is charged with possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.

The indictment alleges that the defendants sold the counterfeit pills on behalf of a source of supply in Mexico, who shipped the drugs through hidden compartments in vehicles or through mail parcels. The pills were sold in various locations in Northern California, including Sacramento and Stockton.

The investigation report showed several instances of drug transactions involving the defendants. Last year, on Sept. 29, Mendoza allegedly sold over 1,000 counterfeit M30 pills containing fentanyl and para-fluorofentanyl in Sacramento. On Dec. 21, 2022, Bustamante allegedly sold over 2,000 counterfeit M30 pills containing fentanyl in Stockton. 

On May 2 this year, Bustamante was stopped by a California Highway Patrol officer in the Stockton area, who searched his vehicle and reportedly found approximately 5,530 counterfeit M30 pills containing fentanyl, and approximately one pound of methamphetamine. 

On June 12, Paco allegedly sold approximately 3,000 counterfeit M30 pills containing fentanyl. Paco was later arrested during a traffic stop on June 27, where officers reportedly found him in possession of nearly 8,000 M30 pills containing fentanyl.

The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California and investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and Homeland Security Investigations, assisted by the California Highway Patrol.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine and can be lethal even in small doses. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, fentanyl was involved in over 36,000 overdose deaths in the United States in 2019.

If convicted, the defendants face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life imprisonment and a $10 million fine.