Source: Office of United States Attorneys
Salt Lake City, Utah – A foreign national living in Utah appeared in court Monday after he was indicted May 29, 2024, by a federal grand jury in Salt Lake City for multiple federal drug crimes involving methamphetamine and 10,000 fentanyl pills.
According to court documents, Francisco Javier Quintero-Obeso, 21, of Magna, Utah, became part of a criminal investigation in December 2023 by the FBI Wasatch Metro Drug Task Force for allegedly intending to distribute large quantities of narcotics into Utah. During the investigation, agents seized approximately 3,758.58 grams (package weight) of a field-tested positive methamphetamine mixture; approximately 1,072.81 grams (package weight) of a field-tested positive fentanyl mixture – which is estimated to be 10,000 pills; and $9,420 at Quintero-Obeso’s residence. As a result, he was arrested.
Quintero-Obeso is charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, and possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute. A three day jury trial is scheduled for August 5, 2024, at 8:30 a.m. in courtroom 3.1 at the United States District Courthouse in downtown Salt Lake City.
U.S. Attorney, Trina A. Higgins, of the District of Utah made the announcement.
The case is being investigated by the FBI Wasatch Metro Drug Task Force.
Assistant United States Attorney Bryant L. Watson of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah is prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.