On October 2, 2017, Ceballos-Castillo was arrested in Springfield, Oregon, and was found to be in possession of over $50,000 in cash. Later that day, a search warrant was executed at his residence in Hubbard, Oregon, and law enforcement seized approximately 57 pounds of methamphetamine, one kilogram of cocaine, and .45 caliber semi-automatic hand gun. A second residence in Salem, Oregon, was also searched and law enforcement seized over 13 pounds of methamphetamine, over one pound of heroin, and a loaded Smith and Wesson .357 caliber revolver and ammunition. To date, agents and officers have seized a combined total of over 76 pounds of methamphetamine, 2.5 pounds of cocaine, one-pound of heroin, two handguns, drug paraphernalia and a money counter.
“These arrests and seizures are the result of a significant joint investigation by local and federal law enforcement to combat the destruction wrought by methamphetamine abuse in the Linn County community,” said Billy J. Williams, United States Attorney for the District of Oregon. “We greatly appreciate the level of cooperation and law enforcement partnerships.”
The investigation was led by DEA and the LINE Task Force, with substantial assistance from the Clackamas County Interagency Task Force (CCITF), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Salem Police Department Street Crimes Unit, the Springfield Police Department, and the Hubbard Police Department. The LINE Task Force, which consists of investigators from the Albany, Lebanon, and Sweet Home police departments, the Linn County Sheriff’s Office, the Oregon State Police, the Oregon National Guard Counter Drug Task Force and the DEA, was created after the county was designated a High Density Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) in January 2016.
Assistant United States Attorney Joseph Huynh is prosecuting this case. A criminal complaint is only an accusation of a crime, and all defendants should be presumed innocent until proven guilty.