Cocaine Trafficker Sentenced for Distributing 956 Kilograms of Cocaine Along East Coast

A Queens, New York man has been sentenced to 275 months in federal prison for his role in a coast-to-coast cocaine trafficking conspiracy that supplied drugs to Delaware and other East Coast states. Federal prosecutors say 65-year-old Brahmananda Prasad transported cocaine from California to New York and 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. Investigators determined Prasad was responsible for bringing at least 956 kilograms of cocaine to the East Coast since 2021—an amount federal officials say is roughly six times larger than any drug quantity attributed to a defendant prosecuted in the District of Delaware in recent memory. In addition to the prison sentence, a federal judge ordered the forfeiture of nearly $2.5 million in proceeds from the drug trafficking operation. U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika imposed the sentence. 

Additional Information from the United States Attorney’s Office–District of Delaware

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.”

United States Attorney’s Office
District of Delaware

“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
Court for the District of Delaware or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:24-CR-34.