A Bridgeport drug trafficker has been sentenced to over a decade in federal prison for his role in distributing fentanyl and heroin in the area.
Jeffrey Thomas, also known as “Zig,” 51, of Bridgeport, was handed down a 125-month prison sentence by U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in New Haven, Connecticut. Thomas will also serve five years of supervised release following his imprisonment, according to a statement by Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut.
Thomas was convicted of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute kilogram quantities of heroin and fentanyl, as well as conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine base, also known as “crack.”
According to court documents, the DEA’s Bridgeport High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force began investigating an organization that was distributing heroin, fentanyl, and crack cocaine in and around Bridgeport in 2019. The investigation, which included court-authorized wiretaps and hundreds of consensual recordings, revealed that Thomas was supplying narcotics to others, including his uncles, Wallace Best and Jeffrey Thomas.
Thomas worked with Jason Cox to establish a connection to Mexican-sourced drug suppliers in California who could provide kilogram quantities of narcotics for distribution on the East Coast. In December 2019, a cooperating source working in conjunction with Wallace Best, Thomas, and Cox, traveled to a Home Depot parking lot in San Diego and purchased 1.1 kilograms of fentanyl, cut with Xylazine and Tramadol, in exchange for $27,000. The conspirators later arranged to purchase five kilograms of heroin from their Mexican suppliers, but were arrested before the transaction could be completed.
On October 14, 2022, a jury found Thomas, Wallace Best, and Cox guilty of the aforementioned charges. Frank Best, Thomas’s nephew, was also found guilty of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine base, as well as five counts of possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of, heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine base.
Thomas was previously convicted of a federal narcotics trafficking offense in 2002 and served 262 months in prison. He was released in January 2019 and was on federal supervised release at the time of his most recent criminal conduct. Thomas was arrested on February 11, 2020, and released on a $150,000 bond. He is required to report to prison on July 23.
Wallace Best, 54, of Bridgeport, was also sentenced to 180 months of imprisonment on May 13, 2024, while Jason Cox, 48, of Bridgeport, was sentenced to 125 months of imprisonment on April 24, 2024. Frank Best awaits sentencing.
This matter was investigated by the DEA’s Bridgeport HIDTA Task Force with the assistance of the DEA San Diego Field Division. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karen L. Peck, Lauren C. Clark, and Katherine E. Boyles through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Program.
Related Federal Cases
- Bridgeport Heroin Kingpin Jason Cox Sentenced to 10+ Years Behind Bars · Connecticut
- Bridgeport Man ‘Twin’ Pleads Guilty to Heroin Trafficking · Connecticut
- Bruce Reisman, Jesse Gillis Plead Guilty in Meth Trafficking Ring · Massachusetts
- Omar Villarreal Gets 7 Years for Fentanyl Shipment to CT · Connecticut
- Bridgeport Man Admits to Synthetic Drug Scheme · Connecticut
Key Facts
- State: Connecticut
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: Official Source ↗
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