Dominican Republic law enforcement have arrested ex-MLB players Octavio Dotel and Luis Castillo in connection with Caribbean drug kingpin César Emilio Peralta.
The attorney general of the Dominican Republic had Dotel, 45, and Castillo, 43, arrested on Tuesday, along with 16 others with alleged connections to Peralta’s drug network.
Peralta, also known as César El Abusador, has trafficked cocaine and opioids from the Dominican Republic into the United States and Europe. He has also run a string of nightclubs used to launder drug money and traffic women for sex, according to the U.S. Treasury Department. The Treasury designated Peralta a “significant foreign narcotics trafficker” on Tuesday.
The exact charges filed against Dotel and Castillo are unclear. Dominican Attorney General Jean Alain Rodríguez said at a press conference that the retired baseball players had acted as frontmen for Peralta’s drug operation.
“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 that we will present to you,” Rodríguez said in a press release.
Dotel and Castillo may face trial in the Dominican Republic or be extradited to the U.S.
Both former pro baseball players played on World Series-winning teams. Dotel carried away his World Series trophy in 2011 while playing with the St. Louis Cardinals. Castillo won the World Series with the Florida Marlins in 2003.
