Octavio Dotel and Luis Castillo, former MLB players, arrested in connection with a West Indian drug ring



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Octavio Dotel and Luis Castillo, former World Series champions, were arrested on Tuesday for alleged links to "one of the largest drug trafficking structures in the Caribbean region," according to the Attorney General of the Dominican Republic .

Castillo and Dotel, both from the Dominican Republic, were arrested along with 16 other people in connection with an operation to close a drug trafficking ring run by César Emilio Peralta, according to a press release from the prosecutor. General of the Dominican Republic, Jean Alain Rodríguez.

Alliance members allegedly used the Dominican Republic as a gateway for the transit and illicit entry of drugs from South America into the United States. Peralta, also known as Caesar El Abusador, would have created an organization resembling the mafia.

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"To enter and launder illicit money from drug trafficking, César El Abusador has also created a complicated institutional framework to conceal the origin of his wealth, also using many individuals belonging to his family and his family. social circle to hide his property, including two sports figures. Dominican Republic that we will introduce you, "says the press release.

Tuesday's operation brought together more than 700 people from several agencies, including the US Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI and the National Drug Control Directorate of the Dominican Republic.

The authorities also arrested a handful of alleged members of the ring, Baltazar Mesa, Jesús Tapia Pérez and Sergio Gómez Díaz. The Attorney General's office stated that these men risked being extradited to the United States.

The Attorney General's office did not specify what charges could be brought against Dotel and Castillo. It is unclear whether they will be the subject of a lawsuit in the Dominican Republic or the United States.

Castillo had a 15-year career at MLB, playing for the Florida Marlins, the New York Mets and the Minnesota Twins. His Marlins team in 2003 won the world series.

But he is perhaps best known for a game – when he launched a popup in a Mets-Yankees game in 2009. His mistake, at the bottom of the ninth with two outs, cost the Mets a win and gave the Yankees a most unlikely victory. .

In his 15-year career at MLB, Dotel has been a member of 12 different teams, although he and Castillo have never been teammates. His best years have been four seasons and a half with the Houston Astros between 2000 and 2004.

Dotel has appeared in two world series, in 2012 for the Detroit Tigers and in 2011 for the St. Louis Cardinals. He pitched two thirds of the round in the seventh game of the Fall Classic 2011 for the winning cards.

David K. Li contributed.

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