Drug trafficker sentenced to prison for flying, mailing kilos of cocaine from California to Alaska

Nearly 10 years ago, police officers pulled over Raul Cisneros Jr. and found 22 pounds of cocaine inside his car.

Investigators discovered the 46-year-old Compton man was the leader of a drug trafficking organization that shipped kilos of cocaine from Southern California to Alaska using commercial airline flights and the U.S. mail service. He oversaw the shipping and selling of cocaine and methamphetamine from at least July 2014 to August 2016.

U.S. District Judge Fernando M. Olguin sentenced him on Thursday to 127 months, or just over 10½ years, in federal prison.

In total, investigators discovered around 48 kilograms — or just over 100 pounds — of cocaine in his possession, according to prosecutors. Detectives with the FBI, DEA and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department investigated the case.

In October 2015, Cisneros was on his way to pick up money at an accomplice's home when law enforcement officers pulled him over. Inside his car, they found about $5,000 in cash and around 10 kilograms, or 22.1 pounds of cocaine, packaged into five different bundles. The cash was all money made from selling drugs, prosecutors said.

From there, investigators obtained a warrant to search his home, where they found several pounds of drugs, mostly cocaine, tucked away in his kitchen cabinets. They ended up seizing roughly 30.7 kilograms, or 66.1 pounds, of cocaine along with 3.6 kilograms, or 1.1 pounds, of meth and 167.7 grams of crack cocaine. They also found four firearms and 72 rounds of ammunition in the kitchen.

Inside the home, there was also hundreds of used green cellophane wrappers that were empty and a money counter, a device federal prosecutors said he used to run the drug trafficking operation.

When agents searched Cisneros' white Honda Accord, they discovered in $568,357 in cash made from selling drugs inside the trunk along with approximately 7.02 kilograms, or 15.5 pounds, of cocaine which was wrapped in seven packages of green cellophane that were all stashed inside a bag. 

On May 9, Cisneros pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine. He was the last defendant in the drug trafficking ring to plead guilty to criminal charges and has been in federal custody since October 2020.

There were eight convictions over the course of the case.