Drug Dealer in Southern Idaho Sentenced For Intent to Sell Meth Near Twin Falls

It has been a busy and productive year for Idaho Drug Task Forces across the state. Many drug dealers and traffickers have been apprehended and sentenced and significant amounts of a variety of drugs have been removed from the streets.

A recent sentencing in Southern Idaho puts another drug dealer behind bars for more than a decade.

The US Attorney for the District of Idaho, Josh Hurwit, announced in a press release on the Department of Justice website that 39 year-old Jose Luis Arteaga has been sentenced to 13 and a half years in federal prison plus 5 years of supervised release.

Arteaga was convicted of 'possession with intent to distribute' in Idaho

While serving a search warrant in late August of 2023, the Drug Task Force in Mini-Cassia found Arteaga in possession of 368 grams of meth and a firearm. Arteaga also had small amounts of cocaine, marijuana, and fentanyl.

Arteaga has a previous conviction in 2011 of drug trafficking and firearms offenses and another sentencing in 2016 for possession of a firearm, which isn't allowed based on his previous conviction.

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He was indicted on his latest crimes on March 26, 2024 and plead guilty to the charges on September 19, 2024.

RELATED STORY: Drug Dealers Sentenced in Southern Idaho

Earlier this month it was announced that 3 drug dealers had been sentenced to nearly a decade of combined time in federal prison for trafficking meth and fentanyl in Idaho Falls.