Dominican National Arrested for Heroin Trafficking and Immigration Offenses
Leonard C Boyle, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that ANGEL DeJESUS-CONCEPCION, 40, a citizen of the Dominican Republic last residing in East Hartford, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in Bridgeport to 80 months of imprisonment for heroin and fentanyl trafficking and immigration offences.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in October 2016, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Hartford Task Force began an investigation of an organisation trafficking large quantities of heroin, fentanyl and other narcotics in Connecticut and western Massachusetts. The investigation, which included court-authorized wiretaps, controlled purchases of drugs and physical surveillance, revealed that members of the organisation were receiving bulk quantities of heroin and fentanyl from out-of-state suppliers. They then stored, processed and packaged the heroin/fentanyl in multiple locations, including apartments located at 280 Collins Street in Hartford where some members of the organisation also resided, and then distributed the drug in the Hartford area and the Springfield and Holyoke, Massachusetts area.
A significant amount of drug trafficking activity occurred at the Neighborhood Supermarket, located at 316 Farmington Avenue in Hartford, owned and operated by DeJesus-Concepcion’s girlfriend, Gisel De La Cruz. Investigators made multiple controlled purchases of heroin and fentanyl from De La Cruz, DeJesus-Concepcion and other members of the drug trafficking organisation in and around the Neighborhood Supermarket.
DeJesus had previously been deported from the U.S. after a conviction for a federal narcotics offence. The investigation revealed that De La Cruz paid $20,000 to smuggle DeJesus-Concepcion back into the U.S. In December 2016, DeJesus-Concepcion illegally reentered the country using fake Venezuelan identification documents.
During the investigation, law enforcement executed 12 search warrants in Connecticut and Massachusetts. It seized approximately 10 kilograms of heroin and fentanyl, packaged for resale in hundreds of thousands of bags. Investigators also took numerous vials of Xylazine, a horse tranquilliser used by narcotics traffickers as a heroin additive. Seven firearms also were seized.
Fourteen individuals have been charged with various narcotics, firearms and immigration offences due to this investigation.
DeJesus-Concepcion has been detained since his arrest on June 29, 2017. On September 17, 2019, he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin and 40 grams or more of fentanyl, and one count of illegal reentry of a removed alien.
De La Cruz pleaded guilty to related charges and has been sentenced.
The DEA’s Hartford Task Force includes personnel from the DEA Hartford Resident Office, the Connecticut State Police, Bristol, Hartford, East Hartford, Enfield, Manchester, New Britain, Rocky Hill, Wethersfield, Windsor Locks and Willimantic Police Departments. Agencies assisting the investigation include the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Marshals Service and Connecticut State Police.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Geoffrey M. Stone prosecutes this case through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Program. OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs and transnational criminal organisations through a prosecutor-led and intelligence-driven approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.
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