A man from Mexico arrested in Mount Pleasant 18 months ago on immigration, drug and firearms charges will spend over 13 years behind bars.

Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa Richard D. Westphal announced that 30-year-old Ismael Salazar Montes of Nogales Sonora, Mexico, was sentenced Wednesday to 160 months in federal prison for illegal re-entry, possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, and illegal alien in possession of firearm and ammunition. United States District Court Judge Stephanie M. Rose also ordered Salazar Montes to serve five years of supervised release after his prison term and pay $300 to the Crime Victims’ Fund.

Authorities began investigating Salazar Montes after law enforcement stopped his vehicle in Mount Pleasant in October 2019 and a canine sniff of the vehicle alerted officers to the presence of narcotics. During the vehicle search, Salazar Montes admitted he had a handgun in his suitcase, in which officers located an unloaded, nine-millimeter Ruger handgun. Salazar Montes also admitted he did not have a permit for the firearm and knew he could not lawfully possess the firearm because he was not legally present in the United States. The vehicle search also discovered a cooler containing three bags of controlled substances—812.8 grams of methamphetamine, 958.7 grams of heroin, and 307.27 grams of fentanyl. Salazar Montes told officers he placed the controlled substances in the cooler and was transporting them from Tucson, Arizona to Chicago, Illinois.

The matter was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, Drug Enforcement Agency, Mount Pleasant Police Department, and Henry County Sheriff’s Office.