FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – A Mexican national who federal prosecutors say was living illegally in Fresno was sentenced to 19 years and five months in prison for his part in a smuggling operation that used the gas tanks of cars to transport drugs, according to the federal Department of Justice (DOJ).
Federal officials say 43-year-old Gilberto Arteaga of Michoacan in Mexico had started taking part in the effort to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine in Fresno County between October 2022 and July 2023.
Prosecutors say on July 15, 2023, a car believed to be used by Arteaga and his co-conspirators crossed from the United States into Mexico – and back again – in less than 12 hours. The vehicle then traveled to a location in Sanger. Law enforcement followed the car, stopped it along with a second car, and searched both cars…