In 2012 he was first arrested for suspected drug trafficking but the case was filed away. Today, the now former Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM) councilor, Francisco Alberto Paulino Castro once again faces drug trafficking charges. This time for major trafficking. The opening of his case was postponed for Sunday, 7 December 2025 following a request from his defense.
State prosecutors are handling the case as a major alleged drug trafficking and money laundering ring dubbed Operation Kraken.
The former Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM) councilor, Francisco Alberto Paulino Castro, also known by the aliases “Francis” or “El Compadre,” is the most prominent figure among the 16 accused.
Santo Domingo East judge Leomar Cruz Quezada ruled in favor of the defense’s request for more time, after attorneys argued in court that they had not yet had sufficient time to review the complex case file and the evidentiary elements presented by the Public Ministry.
El Dia shares details from the prosecution arraignment file establishing that the ring operated transporting cocaine that arrived via Barahona by land to be exported to the United States and Europe via container ships at the Multimodal Caucedo Port, in complicity with port employees.
El Dia explains that Paulino Castro had experienced considerable wealth and operated freely from his base in Boca Chica where over the years he invested in multiple properties. The prosecutors reveal he was able to purchase numerous properties from the State Sugar Council and took advantage of one property near the Caucedo Port to facilitate drug trafficking operations.
Read more in Spanish:
El Nacional
El Dia
El Dia
El Dia
Noticias SIN
1 December 2025