ST. LOUIS — A man who admitted serving as a St. Louis distributor for a large drug-trafficking organization was sentenced Wednesday to 20 years in federal prison.
Jose Luis Mata-Cedillo, 40, pleaded guilty in June to conspiracy to distribute cocaine, possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, illegal reentry after deportation as an aggravated felon and being a felon in possession of a firearm, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri.
In his plea, Mata-Cedillo admitted providing five kilograms of cocaine to a confidential informant in April 2025. Investigators later seized cash and additional cocaine from couriers, the federal release said. Agents arrested him the following month at a planned delivery location after learning he was trying to obtain 50 kilograms of methamphetamine.
Multiple agencies investigated
A sentencing memorandum attributed at least 37 kilograms of cocaine and 50 kilograms of methamphetamine to Mata-Cedillo. Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Junction City police, Illinois State Police and the Missouri State Highway Patrol participated in the investigation.
The sentence follows guilty pleas rather than unresolved charges. VOTP News STL is summarizing the official federal account and has not independently reviewed every filing in the case.
Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Missouri.
