Gabriel Cordero, Heroin and Fentanyl Trafficking, Connecticut 2022

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Table of Contents

Hartford Man Sentenced to 11 Years for Heroin and Fentanyl Trafficking

GABRIEL CORDERO, 35, of Hartford, was sentenced to 135 months of imprisonment for trafficking heroin and fentanyl, U.S. Attorney Vanessa Roberts Avery announced. Cordero was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in Bridgeport.

The investigation, led by the DEA’s Hartford Task Force, began in October 2016 and revealed 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 in Hartford, and distributed the drug in the Hartford area, as well as Springfield and Holyoke, Massachusetts.

Cordero resided in an apartment at 280 Collins Street, where investigators made multiple controlled purchases of heroin and fentanyl from him and other members of the organization. The investigation also revealed that Cordero and his associates possessed and used firearms in connection with their drug trafficking activity.

During the investigation, law enforcement executed 12 search warrants in Connecticut and Massachusetts and seized approximately 10 kilograms of heroin and fentanyl, as well as seven firearms, gun magazines, and numerous rounds of ammunition. Investigators also seized numerous vials of Xylazine, a horse tranquilizer used by narcotics traffickers as a heroin/fentanyl additive.

Cordero has been detained since his arrest on June 29, 2017, and pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute heroin and fentanyl on March 24, 2022. The DEA’s Hartford Task Force includes personnel from the DEA Hartford Resident Office, the Connecticut State Police, and several local police departments.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Geoffrey M. Stone through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Program. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations through a prosecutor-led and intelligence-driven approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.