ERICK SUAREZ, Cocaine Trafficking, Connecticut 2018

State: Connecticut
Category: Drug Trafficking
Source: <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-ct/pr/new-britain-man-sentenced-97-months-prison-trafficking-cocaine-puerto-rico-connecticut" style="color:#cc0000;" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">DOJ Press Release ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Â Ã¢â‚¬â€

ERICK SUAREZ, 31, of New Britain, was sentenced to 97 months of imprisonment for trafficking cocaine from Puerto Rico to Connecticut through the U.S. Mail.

U.S. Attorney John H. Durham announced the sentencing on [date]. Suarez was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant in Hartford.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in 2017, the DEA’s Hartford Task Force and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service began investigating a drug trafficking organization that was sending Priority Mail parcels containing kilogram-quantities of cocaine through the U.S. Mail from Puerto Rico to Connecticut and elsewhere.

The investigation revealed that Suarez coordinated shipments of cocaine from individuals in Puerto Rico to addresses in New Britain, Hartford, Newington, East Hartford, and Bridgeport, as well as Springfield, Massachusetts.

Investigators identified more than 50 suspect parcels that were mailed from Puerto Rico, and intercepted five of the suspect parcels, each of which contained approximately one kilogram of cocaine.

On April 10, 2018, investigators arrested several members of the cocaine trafficking ring, including Jerry Rodriguez, also known as “Bebo,” of Hartford. A search of Rodriguez’s residence revealed approximately 400 grams of cocaine, approximately 160 grams of heroin, items used to process and package narcotics for street sale, and a loaded .45 caliber handgun.

Suarez was arrested on April 12, 2018, and has been detained since his arrest. Suarez pleaded guilty on September 10, 2019, to conspiracy to distribute cocaine. The DEA’s Hartford Task Force and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Newark Division, San Juan (P.R.) Office, assisted the investigation, which is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Geoffrey M. Stone.

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