Drug Trafficker Who Hid Fentanyl Pills In Kid’s Stuffed Animal Sentenced to 8+ Years

A Dallas drug trafficker who stashed fentanyl pills inside his child’s stuffed bear was sentenced today to more than eight years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.

Jorge Miguel Arteaga Medina, 23, was charged via criminal complaint in April 2023 and indicted later that month. He pleaded guilty in February to possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute and was sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Ada Brown to 97 months confinement.

According to court documents, Mr. Arteaga Medina acquired fentanyl pills from a source of supply in Mexico known to agents as “22” and sold them to customers in the Dallas area.

In February 2023, a confidential source bought 171 grams of fentanyl pills from Mr. Arteaga Medina. During the meeting, which was recorded, the defendant advised the source to contact him if he/she needed more fentanyl pills in the future.

In April 2023, the confidential source again reached out to Mr. Arteaga Medina and asked to purchase more pills. The defendant said he had roughly 3,000 pills in his possession but would need to contact his superior in Mexico – believed to be “22” – if the source needed more than that.

Agents then approached Mr. Arteaga Medina and advised him of their investigation. He readily admitted to having a large quantity of pills in his apartment as well as a Smith & Wesson handgun inside the satchel strapped to his chest.

He brought the agents to his apartment, where his wife and small child lived, and showed them the pills. Some were in this bedroom closet, and the remainder were concealed in his child’s stuffed bear.

At Tuesday’s sentencing hearing, prosecutors introduced into evidence photographs of the pills inside the stuffed animal as well as posters Mr. Arteaga Medina kept in his home glorifying “Santa Muerte” (“Our Lady of Holy Death”), the skeletal so-called patron saint of drug dealers.

The Drug Enforcement Administration’s Dallas Field Division conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney George Leal prosecuted the case.

The case was investigated under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. For more information about Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, please visit Justice.gov/OCDETF.

Additional photographs introduced into evidence at sentencing available upon request.