TAMPA, Fla — A California man who helped move more than 120 pounds of methamphetamine through Tampa International Airport has been sentenced to more than 24 years in federal prison.
Jacob Paul Arjona, 32, of Bakersfield, was sentenced to 24 years and six months for conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. The sentence will run concurrently with a separate 17-year, 7-month federal sentence he received in August 2025 in an unrelated meth trafficking and kidnapping case. He has been in custody since February 25, 2025, and pleaded guilty in this case on November 19, 2025.
According to court documents, Arjona recruited two men to fly from Los Angeles to Tampa on May 3, 2023, carrying methamphetamine in their luggage. Arjona traveled separately to Florida to oversee the drug’s distribution once it arrived.
The two couriers were stopped and arrested at Tampa International Airport, and more than 120 pounds of methamphetamine was seized. Investigators with Homeland Security Investigations matched Arjona’s fingerprints to packaging recovered from the drugs. Airline records also showed Arjona traveled to Tampa and later departed from Orlando the same day.
One of the couriers has already been sentenced to more than seven years in federal prison. The second fled after being released on bond and remains a fugitive.
U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe said the case demonstrates strong law enforcement coordination. “The coordination and cooperation by our law enforcement partners were effective in disrupting the trafficking of methamphetamine from coast to coast,” Kehoe said. “We will continue to work together to prevent the flow of dangerous drugs into our communities across the Middle District of Florida.”
HSI Tampa Acting Assistant Special Agent in Charge Michael Calvo added, “Illicit narcotics like methamphetamine pose a grave threat that destroys lives, tears apart families, and undermines the safety and well-being of neighborhoods across the country.” He said HSI and airport police are committed to stopping criminals from bringing illegal drugs into the Tampa community.
▶ Listen to Jacksonville’s Morning News Interviews
Click here to download our free news, weather and traffic app. And click here to subscribe to our daily 3 Big Things newsletter.
©2026 Cox Media Group
