Nashua man sentenced to 7 years in prison for trafficking meth by train

GREAT FALLS - A Nashua man who helped traffic methamphetamine in Montana was sentenced today to 88 months, followed by 10 years of supervised release, Acting U.S. Attorney Mark Steger Smith said.

J. Daniel Peters, 55, pleaded guilty in January 2026 to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute meth and possession with intent to distribute meth.

U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided.

The government alleged in court documents that Peters and a partner were smuggling meth from Michigan into the Wolf Point area by Amtrak train.

In July 2024, law enforcement learned that Peters was possibly involved with moving drugs by train into Montana. By February 2025, agents had received approval to track calls made from Peters's phone. They discovered Peters was in contact with a number ultimately determined to belong to Peters's partner, Deante Mathis.

The same phone number Peters and Mathis were using was also used as a contact number for Amtrak train reservations between Detroit, Michigan, and Glasgow, Montana. On March 20, 2025, law enforcement learned train tickets from Detroit to Glasgow had been purchased for the following day using the number.

Law enforcement staked out the Glasgow Amtrak station and saw Peters arrive by car and pick up Mathis, who had been on the train. Officers searched Peters's vehicle and found roughly one pound of meth in Mathis's luggage. Mathis admitted to law enforcement that he moved meth by train three times in the previous six months, providing it to Peters who sold it around the Wolf Point area and using the proceeds to buy more.

The U.S. Attorney's Office prosecuted the case. The FBI conducted the investigation.