DRUG RING MEMBER GETS DEAL ON PLEA

Operative For Tijuana Gang Guilty On 2 Counts

LOS ANGELES - A man authorities say was the business operations chief in
Los Angeles for the Tijuana-based Arellano Felix drug cartel pleaded guilty
yesterday to cocaine-distribution and money-laundering charges.

While prosecutors and Jorge Castro, 34, did strike a deal on his guilty
plea, there was no agreement that Castro would work with the government in
the future and help law enforcement in its long investigation of the
Arellano brothers, whom investigators consider some of the most wanted men
in Mexico.

"There is no cooperation," said Castro's lawyer, Donald Randolph.

When Castro and others were arrested in June 1998, then-U.S. Attorney Nora
Manella said his arrest would "significantly disrupt" the Arellano cartel's
operations.

But since then, the top members of the Arellano cartel have evaded capture
and their trade has thrived. By some accounts, the flow of drugs across the
Mexican border may be heavier now than ever before.

Dressed in a blue prison uniform and with his arms folded tightly across
his waist, Castro calmly pleaded guilty in U.S. District Judge David
Williams's courtroom to one count of conspiracy to distribute more than 5
kilograms of cocaine and one count of conspiracy to launder money.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Beverly Reid O'Connell said the government would
seek a sentence of no longer than 16 years and 11 months.

If convicted at trial, Castro faced life in prison. Sentencing was set for
March 20.

Prosecutors contend that between May 1997 and June 1998, Castro, of
Sinaloa, Mexico, was the head of a drug-dealing ring that distributed at
least 6,600 pounds of cocaine in Southern California. Court papers state
that Castro ordered subordinates to drive more than $1.5 million in cash to
Mexico to be laundered.

At the time of his arrest, authorities said they had seized more than $15
million in cash during the investigation.

Investigators regarded Castro as the head of operations in Los Angeles for
the Arellano cartel, which controls the major Mexican routes for smuggling
marijuana and cocaine into the United States across the western half of the
border between Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez, near El Paso, Texas.

Castro's activities were monitored through court-authorized wiretaps of
telephone conversations. According to court records, Castro and others
spoke in coded language during these discussions.

The cocaine shipments Castro had authorized were headed for locations in
Los Angeles County's San Gabriel Valley, as well as San Bernardino and
Riverside counties, court papers state.

Eight other defendants were charged along with Castro. Seven have pleaded
guilty, and one has entered a plea agreement and is expected to plead
guilty in the coming days, O'Connell said.

Three of the Arellano Felix brothers - Benjamin, Javier and Ramon - are at
large. The FBI in 1997 placed Ramon Arellano Felix on its 10 Most Wanted
List and has described the crime syndicate as one of the most ruthless and
powerful in the world. Both the U.S. and Mexican governments have offered
millions for the brothers' capture.

Gunmen working for the Arellanos allegedly killed Cardinal Juan Jesus
Posada Ocampo in 1993 during a gunfight between the Arellanos and another
gang. Ramon Arellano Felix made the FBI's most wanted list after the family
was accused of killing several Mexican police officials.