Ex-MLB Stars Accused In Biggest Drug Bust In Dominican Republic History

Three-time All Star second baseman, Luis Castillo, and former pitcher Octavio Dotel are reportedly accused of being involved in a massive drug trafficking ring in the Dominican Republic. According to ABC News, the country’s attorney general, Jean Alain Rodriguez, has labelled it the “largest operation against organized crime” in the country.

The Associated Press reports that Dotel, whose MLB career spanned 15 years, has already been arrested. Castillo, who played for the Florida Marlins, New York Mets & others during his 15-year career, has been cited. 

The former MLB stars are among a total of 21 people implicated in the ring reportedly run by Cesar “El Abusador” Peralta, who has not yet been detained. According to reports, the organization smuggled drugs from South America through the DR before ultimately shipping them to the U.S.

It’s unclear what the specific accusations against Castillo and Dotel are, but it appears they allegedly helped “El Abusador” launder his money.

“To enter and launder the illicit money obtained from drug trafficking, César El Abusador also created a complicated corporate framework to disguise the origin of his fortune, also using numerous individuals belonging to his family and social circle to hide his assets, including 2 sports figures of the Dominican Republic,” attorney general Rodriguez said in a statement.

According to the New York Post, Rodriguez’s office described the cartel as “one of the most important drug trafficking structures in the Caribbean region, the United States and the Dominican Republic, whose members used the Dominican Republic as a bridge for the transit and entry of illicit drugs to the United States from South America.”