Staff reports 6 a.m.
Sunday, March 15, 2026 5:57 am

CONCORD - A Dominican national has pleaded guilty in federal court in Concord to drug offenses.

Ariel Castillo-Solano a/k/a Jose Antonio Santiago, 36, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, specifically methamphetamine.

According to the court documents and statements made in court, beginning in early 2024, the DEA began an investigation into an unknown individual who was selling multiple-ounce quantities of methamphetamine in the Greater Rochester area. During the investigation, a DEA cooperating source (or "CS") communicated with the defendant, Ariel Castillo-Solano, according to a release from the U.S. Attorneys Office.

At the time, Castillo-Solano, a citizen of the Dominican Republic, was using the identity of Jose Antonio Santiago, an American citizen from Puerto Rico. Between Oct. 21, 2024, and Jan. 10, 2025, the DEA, using a CS and a DEA undercover Task Force Officer, negotiated several sales totaling more than five pounds of methamphetamine from Castillo-Solano.

Between Jan. 10, 2025 and Jan. 23, 2025, Castillo-Solano arranged to sell the undercover officer an additional 15 pounds of methamphetamine, about 21 ounces cocaine, and 40 grams of fentanyl. They agreed to a purchase price of $69,000. On Jan. 24, 2025, Castillo-Solano met the undercover officer in a parking lot in Seabrook, where Castillo-Solano stated that his "brother," later identified as Joel Castillo-Soto, would be arriving in an Uber to deliver the product. Thereafter, Castillo-Soto arrived and delivered the methamphetamine, cocaine, and fentanyl to the undercover officer, at which point the DEA arrested both Castillo-Solano and Castillo-Soto.

The charges of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance carry a sentence of up to 20 years' incarceration, not less than 3 years of supervised release, and a fine up to $1,000,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

U.S. District Court Chief Judge Samantha Elliot scheduled Castillo-Solano's sentencing for June 18.