What looked like a regular Adams Point apartment, a short walk from Lake Merritt, was, according to federal agents, a fentanyl pill operation. On Jan. 28, Carlos Joel Castro‑Arteaga was sentenced to six years in federal prison after pleading guilty to a federal fentanyl distribution charge. In court filings, he wrote that he had true remorse and said he had learned how fentanyl destroys people’s health, families, and futures.
The six-year term followed Castro‑Arteaga’s guilty plea to a single federal fentanyl distribution count, as reported by The Mercury News. Prosecutors say the case grew out of an undercover probe that put the apartment and its occupants under close watch.
Court records describe an undercover buy in which an agent paid $1,500 for about 168.4 grams of fentanyl, followed by a search of a residence on the 300 block of Euclid Avenue in Adams Point. Agents say they recovered roughly four pounds of fentanyl along with a hydraulic pill press, pill castings and other drug‑manufacturing tools, about $42,000 in cash, and a firearm with 12 bullets at the scene, per court records reported by Leagle.
Raid Details and Pill‑Press Operation
Prosecutors contend the equipment and molds pointed to a setup for pressing fentanyl into counterfeit pills destined for street sale. Local investigators and federal agents have repeatedly flagged pill presses as a priority because fake pills often hide potentially lethal doses, a pattern reported by The Mercury News.
Sentence and Legal Notes
U.S. District Judge Haywood S. Gilliam Jr. imposed the six‑year federal term on Jan. 28, 2026, according to filings and the court docket. Castro‑Arteaga pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of fentanyl, and the case relies on federal statutes that carry steep penalties for trafficking large quantities, per Leagle.
Public Health Stakes
The Drug Enforcement Administration warns that as little as 2 milligrams of fentanyl can be lethal, a key point in the agency’s “One Pill Can Kill” guidance. Using that measure, roughly four pounds of fentanyl, about 1.8 kilograms, would equate to more than 900,000 potential lethal doses, which helps explain why pill‑press busts land high on law‑enforcement priority lists…