In a significant crackdown on drug trafficking in the Bay Area, Oakland resident Melvin Alexis Diaz Arteaga, originally from Honduras, was handed a 78-month prison sentence yesterday for his role in a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and other illegal substances. According to a recent announcement by United States Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey, Diaz pleaded guilty last year to six drug charges connected to his operation in San Francisco's Tenderloin district.
The hefty sentence was meted out by Senior United States District Judge Charles R. Breyer, who also mandated four years of supervised release following Diaz's prison term. The 30-year-old, detained since his arrest on November 16, 2022, was remanded into custody post-sentencing, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California revealed.
Diaz's guilty plea unveiled his possession of over 6.6 kilograms of fentanyl, along with amounts of methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine, and other drugs earmarked for street sale. The government's sentencing memorandum highlighted that two firearms, a stash of cash, alongside drug manufacturing and processing paraphernalia, were discovered in Diaz's Berkeley apartment, used as a hub for his illicit operations.
"By his own admission, this defendant had access to a staggering quantity of fentanyl, which he repeatedly sold in the Tenderloin," United States Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey said in a statement captured by the U.S. Attorney's Office. The case, prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Nicholas M. Parker with Jessie Chelsea assisting, followed a thorough investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the San Francisco Police Department.
As part of his plea deal, Diaz agreed to give up more than $50,000 in cash found at his arrest, nearly $42,000 in his bedroom. He acknowledged the money was drug proceeds or meant to support his drug trafficking crimes. Diaz faced charges in six of the eight counts in the indictment issued by a federal grand jury on January 5, 2023.
