ST. LOUIS – An illegal alien who distributed cocaine in St. Louis for a Mexican cartel was sentenced Wednesday to 20 years in prison.
Jose Luis Mata-Cedillo, 40, pleaded guilty in June to four felony counts: conspiracy to distribute cocaine, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, illegal reentry after deportation as an aggravated felon and being a felon in possession of a firearm. As part of his plea agreement, Mata-Cedillo admitted working for a large-scale, multi-country drug trafficking organization as a distributor in St. Louis. After a courier was intercepted in Junction City, Kansas with 27 kilograms of cocaine, Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations began learning about Mata-Cedillo’s drug activities in St. Louis. On April 26, 2025, Mata-Cedillo provided a confidential informant with 5 kilos of cocaine. Later that night, investigators intercepted a courier who had been paid by Mata-Cedillo, seizing $54,600 in cash and about 10 kilos of cocaine. Three days later, he paid another courier, who was then stopped with $66,680, his plea says. In mid-May, agents learned that Mata-Cedillo was trying to order 50 kilos of methamphetamine from Mexico. Mata-Cedillo was arrested at the scheduled delivery point with a loaded 9mm Glock handgun.
Mata-Cedillo was involved in the receipt of at least 37 kilograms of cocaine and 50 kilograms of methamphetamine, a sentencing memo filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Torrie J. Schneider says. He was financially irresponsible and owed the Mexican cartel large sums of cash. He earned the nickname “El Mentiroso,” or “The Liar” because he so often lied about having the cartel’s money, the memo says, and had a cartel babysitter live with and monitor him for weeks during the investigation.
Mata-Cedillo was caught at the border in El Paso in 2008 and removed to Mexico. He entered the country again and was deported in 2020 after being released from a 78-month prison sentence he received in the West District of Washington after being convicted of another drug conspiracy charge. He was living in St. Louis under someone else’s name at the time of his arrest.
Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Junction City (Kansas) Police Department, the Illinois State Police and the Missouri State Highway Patrol investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Torrie J. Schneider prosecuted the case.