Francisco Murillo, Methamphetamine Trafficking, Iowa 2024

A California man has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for his role in a large-scale methamphetamine trafficking organization that sent the deadly substance from California to Iowa through the United States Postal Service.

Francisco Murillo, age 31, from San Bernardino, California, received the prison term after a December 20, 2024, guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Evidence at the plea and sentencing hearings showed that Murillo was involved in a large-scale drug trafficking organization that was responsible for sending methamphetamine from California to Iowa through the United States Postal Service. Murillo and others in California sent packages containing methamphetamine through the United States Postal Service to several addresses in Cedar Rapids.

Murillo’s co-conspirators in Iowa sent the cash proceeds from the distribution of controlled substances back to California in packages that listed fake names and return addresses.

Murillo was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. He must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

Murillo is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Adam J. Vander Stoep and was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Task Force.

The DEA Task Force consists of the DEA, the Linn County Sheriff’s Office, the Cedar Rapids Police Department, the Marion Police Department, and the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement. This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation.

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