Timothy T. Duax U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa
A California man has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for his role in a methamphetamine trafficking operation. Francisco Murillo, 31, from San Bernardino, pleaded guilty on December 20, 2024, to conspiracy charges related to drug distribution and money laundering.
Murillo was involved with a large-scale drug trafficking organization that shipped methamphetamine from California to Iowa using the United States Postal Service. The organization sent packages containing methamphetamine to various addresses in Cedar Rapids. Co-conspirators in Iowa then returned cash proceeds from drug sales back to California using packages with fake names and return addresses.
United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams handed down the sentence of 360 months’ imprisonment in Cedar Rapids. Following his prison term, Murillo will serve a five-year supervised release period. Federal sentences do not include parole.
Currently, Murillo is held by the United States Marshal's custody pending transport to a federal prison.
The prosecution was led by Assistant United States Attorney Adam J. Vander Stoep. The investigation involved multiple agencies including the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Task Force. This task force includes members from several law enforcement bodies such as the Linn County Sheriff's Office and the Cedar Rapids Police Department.
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation aimed at dismantling high-level criminal organizations through a coordinated approach involving multiple agencies.
