James Artis-Bryan, Methamphetamine and Fentanyl Trafficking, Pennsylvania 2021

A Luzerne County man is facing serious charges after a federal indictment was handed down against him for allegedly engaging in methamphetamine and fentanyl trafficking.

James Artis-Bryan, 41, of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, was charged with two separate drug trafficking crimes, according to a press release from the United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

On November 9, 2021, a federal grand jury indicted Artis-Bryan on one count of conspiring with other individuals to distribute and possess with intent to distribute over 500 grams of methamphetamine, as well as another count accusing him of possessing with the intent to distribute fentanyl and possessing a firearm in furtherance of his drug trafficking activities.

The cases were investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, and the United States Postal Inspection Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jenny P. Roberts is prosecuting the case.

The prosecution is part of an extensive investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a joint federal, state, and local cooperative approach to combat drug trafficking.

Artis-Bryan is currently facing a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. He is presumed to be innocent until found guilty in court.

Indictments are only allegations, and the outcome of the case is still pending.

As part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the United States Attorney's Office is working to reduce violent crime in the community by focusing enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partnering with locally based prevention and reentry programs.

Stay tuned to Grimy Times for updates on this developing case.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdpa/pr/luzerne-county-man-charged-drug-trafficking