Illegal Alien with Serious Criminal History Sentenced to over 19 Years in Prison for Conspiracy to Traffic Fentanyl and Methamphetamine in Fresno County

FRESNO, Calif. - Gilberto Arteaga, 43, of Michoacan, Mexico, illegally residing in Fresno, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston to 19 years and five months in prison for his role in a fentanyl and methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced.

According to court documents, between Oct. 1, 2022, and July 16, 2023, Arteaga joined in a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine in Fresno County. On July 15, 2023, a car that law enforcement agents believed Arteaga and his co-conspirators were using crossed from the United States into Mexico and then back, all in less than 12 hours. The car then traveled to a residence in Sanger. Law enforcement agents followed the car, stopped it along with a second car and searched both cars. Arteaga was the sole occupant of one car and two of his co-defendants were in the other car. One of the cars had about 30 pounds of methamphetamine and more than 6 pounds of fentanyl.

Law enforcement agents searched Arteaga's cellphone and found photographs of packages of methamphetamine as well as messages between Arteaga and his co-defendants with directions about unloading drugs out of the gas tank. Further evidence revealed that for at least seven months, Arteaga and his co-defendants had been smuggling drugs across the border in the gas tank of a car, traveling to a residence in Sanger, and then disassembling that car to remove the drugs for distribution.

Arteaga pleaded guilty to the charge on May 19, 2025. He is the last defendant in this case to be sentenced.

The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Fresno and Clovis Police Departments conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin J. Gilio prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

This case is part of Operation Synthetic Opioid Surge (S.O.S.) a program designed to reduce the supply of deadly synthetic opioids in high impact areas as well as identifying wholesale distribution networks and international and domestic suppliers. In July 2018, the Justice Department announced the creation of S.O.S., which is being implemented in the Eastern District of California and nine other federal districts.