United States Drug Enforcement Administration

FRESNO, Calif. — Jose Angel Beltran-Chaidez, 69, a Mexican national residing in Bakersfield, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston to two years in prison for possessing with intent to distribute heroin, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith and Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Bob P. Beris announced.

According to court documents, in January 2022, at the direction of his brother Antonio Beltran-Chaidez, 55, also a Mexican national, Beltran delivered more than 2 pounds of heroin to Jorge Calderon-Campos, 44, a Mexican national residing in Bakersfield, for distribution. However, when Calderon-Campos was unable to sell the drug, Beltran retrieved it from Calderon-Campos and was in possession of the heroin when stopped by a CHP officer for a traffic violation.

Calderon-Campos and Antonio Beltran-Chaidez previously pleaded guilty and were sentenced to eight years and one month in prison and three years and 10 months in prison, respectively.

This case was the product of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations and the Drug Enforcement Administration, with assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Secret Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Kern County High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force, the California Highway Patrol, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Kern County Sheriff’s Office, the Kern County Probation Department, and the Bakersfield Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Escobar 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, please visit Justice.gov/OCDETF.