GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan — A Grand Rapids man has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for possessing cocaine with intent to distribute, after investigators linked him to cocaine parcels mailed through the U.S. mail from Arizona. Cordairo Aqtavian Lambert, 39, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Robert J. Jonker, U.S. Attorney Timothy VerHey announced.

Source: U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Michigan

The investigation began in July 2024 after postal inspectors in Arizona seized and searched a parcel addressed to a residence in Grand Rapids that contained over a half kilogram of cocaine. Inspectors identified Lambert on surveillance video mailing the parcel from Arizona. Grand Rapids station WGRD reported the same seizure, the surveillance identification and the 20-year sentence in its coverage of the announcement.

Source: WGRD, Grand Rapids

Evidence presented at trial showed Lambert frequently traveled to Arizona, often crossing the border into Mexico, in conjunction with the dates other suspected drug parcels were sent, the department said. Lambert had previous felony drug trafficking and firearm convictions in both federal and state courts.

One year later, in July 2025, Lambert attempted to retrieve a parcel containing nearly two-thirds of a kilogram of cocaine from a residence in southeast Grand Rapids. When a Grand Rapids police officer attempted to arrest him, Lambert fled on foot and hid in a residential neighborhood before surrendering to police, according to the department.

"Lambert is a recidivist drug dealer who refused to take any responsibility for his crimes," U.S. Attorney VerHey said. "The sentence he received should serve as a warning to career drug dealers and those importing drugs into our communities." The case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Grand Rapids Police Department and the Michigan State Police, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Vito S. Solitro and Stephanie M. Carowan.