Cesar De Sena Arias, also known as "Junior," has been sentenced to 10 years in prison. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Arias was involved in orchestrating the transport of large quantities of cocaine from Puerto Rico to Raleigh.
Arias, 32, pled guilty on March 4, 2024, to charges of drug trafficking, including distributing over five kilograms of cocaine. As the leader of the operation, he played a key role in managing the network. The investigation, which started in April 2022, used a wiretap and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service to track cocaine shipments to Raleigh. Authorities traced the shipments back to Arias through phone numbers and IP addresses, confirming his involvement, as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Arias and his co-defendants, Luis Portes-Martes and Robert Norris Mariscal, were convicted after an investigation uncovered cocaine, over $20,000 in cash, and a firearm. Portes-Martes received 48 months, and Mariscal got 60 months in prison, both with five years of supervised release. The case was a significant effort by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, with cooperation from the DEA, Raleigh Police, and U.S. Postal Inspection Service. The prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly Sandling, and sentencing was by Judge Louise W. Flanagan, as stated by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
