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Fentanyl & Heroin Trafficker Lands 5-Year Prison Term
A 47-year-old Waterbury resident, Wilton Reynoso, also known as Manuel Jose Echevarria-Lugo, has been sentenced to 60 months of imprisonment for trafficking fentanyl and heroin. Reynoso, a citizen of the Dominican Republic, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton in New Haven.
The investigation into Reynoso’s activities began in late 2019 when the DEA New Haven Task Force started looking into the distribution of heroin and fentanyl in New Haven and Waterbury. Through thousands of intercepted communications over court-authorized wiretaps, investigators uncovered that Reynoso was receiving large quantities of fentanyl and heroin from a source in New York and selling them to other drug distributors.
On June 13, 2020, investigators attempted to arrest Reynoso and Tyson Quinones, of Waterbury, after intercepting calls indicating a 200-gram heroin transaction was planned. Quinones was arrested at the meeting place, but Reynoso fled in his vehicle, which was later found abandoned nearby. Reynoso was arrested shortly after and a search of a Waterbury location revealed over a kilogram of a fentanyl and heroin mixture, as well as items used to process and package narcotics.
Reynoso has been in custody since his arrest and pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute, and to possess with intent to distribute, 400 grams or more of fentanyl on June 19, 2021. He now faces immigration proceedings after completing his prison term. Quinones, who pleaded guilty on July 23, 2021, awaits sentencing.
The investigation was conducted by the DEA New Haven Task Force, with assistance from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. The Task Force includes participants from multiple local law enforcement agencies.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John T. Pierpont, Jr. and Elena L. Coronado through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Program.
Reynoso’s 5-year prison sentence is a significant blow to those involved in the fentanyl and heroin trade. The OCDETF Program has been instrumental in disrupting and dismantling drug trafficking operations across the country.
Key Facts
- State: Connecticut
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Violent Crime|Cybercrime|Public Corruption|Weapons|Human Trafficking|White Collar Crime|Organized Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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