A Connecticut man has been sentenced to more than 10 year in prison for his role in drug trafficking, according to federal authorities.
Joel Cordero, 45, of Meriden, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in Bridgeport to a total of 155 months in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, for trafficking heroin and fentanyl, according to federal authorities.
Citing court documents and statements made in court, authorities said the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Hartford Task Force in in October 2016 began to investigate an organization led by Cordero that was trafficking large quantities of heroin, fentanyl and other narcotics in Connecticut and western Massachusetts.
Authorities said the investigation included court-authorized wiretaps, controlled purchases of narcotics and physical surveillance, and determined that Cordero and his associates were receiving bulk quantities of heroin and fentanyl from out-of-state suppliers
“They stored, processed, and packaged the heroin/fentanyl in multiple locations, including apartments located at 280 Collins Street in Hartford where some members of the organization resided, and distributed the drug in the Hartford area, and also the Springfield and Holyoke, Massachusetts area,” authorities said in a statement.
A “significant amount of drug trafficking activity” allegedly occurred at “the Neighborhood Supermarket, located at 316 Farmington Avenue in Hartford,” authorities said.
The investigation also revealed that members of the drug trafficking organization possessed and used firearms in connection with their drug trafficking activity, authorities said.
Authorities said law enforcement officials executed 12 search warrants in Connecticut and Massachusetts and seized about “10 kilograms of heroin and fentanyl, much of which was packaged for resale in hundreds of thousands of bags.”
Investigators also seized “numerous vials of Xylazine, an animal tranquilizer used by narcotics traffickers as a heroin/fentanyl additive,” seven guns, gun magazines, numerous rounds of ammunition, and a bullet proof vest from Cordero and his associates, authorities said.
Cordero has been in custody since his arrest on June 29, 2017, authorities said.
He pleaded guilty in October to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and one kilogram or more of heroin, authorities said.
The DEA’s Hartford Task Force includes personnel from the DEA Hartford Resident Office, Connecticut State Police, and Bristol, Hartford, East Hartford, Enfield, Manchester, Middletown, New Britain, Rocky Hill, Wethersfield, and Windsor Locks police departments. Other agencies that assisted include the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Marshals Service and Connecticut State Police, authorities said.
