Overview
- Federal prosecutors charged Mark Dygdon and Rodrigo Castro with conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, a case filed on June 17 that the men have pleaded not guilty to in Manhattan federal court.
- Authorities allege the defendants imported about seven tons of gamma-butyrolactone, an industrial solvent known by street names such as Blue Nitro, which prosecutors estimate equals roughly one million individual doses.
- Prosecutors say GBL can convert into gamma-hydroxybutyrate, a central nervous system depressant linked to overdoses and drug-facilitated sexual assault, and they warn a single dose can be deadly.
- The government told courts it has business records and source information it says tie the defendants to the shipments while defense lawyers dispute those claims and say their clients will clear their names.
- The case is in its early stages and is being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, where the next steps will include evidentiary disclosures and pretrial proceedings that could shape public-safety enforcement and charging strategies.