Gilberto Arteaga, 43, of Michoacan, Mexico, who is living in the United States without documentation, was sentenced Monday to 19 years and five months in federal prison for his role in a fentanyl and methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced.

Court documents show that between October 2022 and July 2023, Arteaga participated in a scheme to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine in Fresno County.

On July 15, 2023, law enforcement agents followed a vehicle linked to Arteaga as it crossed into Mexico and returned to the U.S. within 12 hours, eventually arriving at a residence in Sanger.

When agents stopped the vehicle along with a second car, they found Arteaga alone in one car and his two co-defendants in the other, along with about 30 pounds of methamphetamine and more than 6 pounds of fentanyl.

Investigators said Arteaga’s cellphone contained photos of drug packages and messages coordinating unloading drugs from a vehicle gas tank.

Evidence indicated that for at least seven months, Arteaga and his co-defendants had been smuggling drugs in gas tanks, transporting them to Sanger, and disassembling the cars to retrieve the narcotics.

Arteaga pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges on May 19, 2025, and was the last defendant in the case to be sentenced.

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