Two Crystal Lake men charged in separate heroin busts

Two Crystal Lake men face drug charges related to separate investigations that turned up more than 7.6 pounds of heroin and other narcotics, authorities said.

Roman Castro, 47, was being held at the McHenry County jail on $2 million bond after detectives found 3,462 grams of heroin, valued at about $692,400, in his apartment in the 600 block of Virginia Avenue, according to the McHenry County sheriff's office.

The sheriff's Narcotics Task Force received a tip Castro was keeping large amounts of heroin in his residence, where scales and packaging materials were also recovered, authorities said.

Castro was arrested Tuesday on charges of unlawful possession of a controlled substance and unlawful delivery of a controlled substance. His next court date is Friday.

Paul Benzinger, 29, was arrested Monday after he was found with $750 worth of drugs during a traffic stop in Algonquin, officials said. He is accused of possessing 0.1 gram of crack cocaine, drug paraphernalia and 36 bags of heroin - 3.6 grams total.

Benzinger, who was on parole for a previous heroin-related conviction, was charged with unlawful delivery of a controlled substance and two counts of unlawful possession of a controlled substance, authorities said. He was being held on $800,000 bond, and his next court date is Tuesday.

Community members are asked to report suspected drug dealing and other suspicious activity to the sheriff's office at (815) 338-2144. Anonymous tips can be submitted to Crime Stoppers of McHenry County at (800) 762-7637.