Coast-to-Coast Cocaine Trafficker Responsible for Distributing 956 Kilograms of Cocaine Along East Coast Sentenced to 275 Months in Prison

WILMINGTON, Del. - A Queens, New York, man was sentenced on May 29, 2026, to 275 months in prison for his role in a nationwide cocaine-trafficking conspiracy. U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika imposed the sentence. The Court also issued a Preliminary Order of Forfeiture for a personal money judgment in the amount of $2,495,500, which represents the gross proceeds of the defendant's cocaine enterprise.

According to court documents and evidence presented in connection with sentencing, Brahmananda Prasad, 65, engaged in a coast-to-coast cocaine-trafficking conspiracy. Prasad regularly flew from his home in New York to California, where he met with cocaine suppliers and purchased multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine. He routinely purchased between 20 and 24 kilograms of cocaine at a time, and on occasion procured as much as approximately 48 kilograms of cocaine on a single trip. Prasad then shipped the cocaine back to New York, directing others to pose as representatives of his ostensibly legitimate shipping company to evade detection. Once back on the East Coast, Prasad distributed cocaine to multi-kilogram sub-distributors in New York and Maryland, who further distributed the cocaine in Delaware and elsewhere along the East Coast.

The government's investigation into Prasad's cocaine-trafficking conspiracy included drug seizures, surveillance, analysis of flight and shipping records, and a nearly four-month wiretap, among other measures. The investigation revealed that Prasad had been shipping cocaine from California to New York since at least 2021, and that he was responsible for bringing at least 956 kilograms of cocaine to the East Coast for further distribution. That drug weight is approximately six times the volume attributed to any other drug defendant prosecuted in the District of Delaware in recent memory.

U.S. Attorney Benjamin L. Wallace stated, "Brahmananda Prasad made millions by pumping poison into several states on the East Coast, Delaware included. But due to the dogged efforts of federal prosecutors and agents, Prasad will pay those millions back-and will spend more than two decades in prison to boot. This just sentence should send a message to other large-scale drug traffickers: if your product touches Delaware, we will find you and hold you accountable, even if you never once set foot in our State."

"This sentence sends a clear message to those who would attempt to profit from poisoning our communities with dangerous drugs," said Acting Special Agent in Charge of HSI Philadelphia Nathan Abel. "Through persistent investigative work and strong partnerships with our law enforcement counterparts, HSI dismantled a coast-to-coast trafficking operation responsible for flooding the East Coast with staggering quantities of cocaine. We remain committed to holding traffickers accountable and protecting our neighborhoods from the devastating impact of narcotics distribution."

This matter was the result of a long-term investigation spearheaded by Homeland Security Investigations, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation. Criminal Chief Carly A. Hudson, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Thurstlic-O'Neill, and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer K. Welsh prosecuted the case.

This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative. The HSTF is a United States government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, transnational gangs, and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) worldwide. This initiative identifies TCOs engaged in a wide range of criminal schemes that violate federal law, while dismantling cross-border human smuggling and trafficking networks that fuel violence and instability that threatens the safety and security of the United States and its global partners. It also places a particular emphasis on criminal offenses involving children and ensures the use of all available law enforcement tools to prosecute offenders and/or facilitate the removal of removal criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Wilmington is comprised of agents and officers from HSI and FBI, with case-specific participation from agencies including DEA, IRS-CI, USPIS, and ATF. The prosecution was led by the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Delaware.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Delaware. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District CourtLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. for the District of Delaware or on PACERLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. by searching for Case No. 1:24-CR-34.

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