Miguel Lara, Cocaine Trafficking, CT 2024

Miguel Lara, 47, a citizen of El Salvador last residing in Bridgeport, Connecticut, was sentenced today to 42 months in federal prison for trafficking five kilograms of cocaine. The sentence, handed down by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford, marks the end of a years-long investigation into a high-level drug network operating in Fairfield County.

According to court records, the DEA’s Bridgeport High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force launched an investigation in September 2016 targeting Christian Paulino Rodriguez, a Dominican Republic national. The probe quickly led to Lara, co-owner of Café Luna in Stamford, who was identified as Rodriguez’s primary cocaine supplier. Surveillance and informant work revealed a sophisticated operation using the restaurant as a front for drug distribution.

In November 2016, a government-cooperating individual arranged to buy five kilograms of cocaine from Rodriguez at $28,000 per kilogram — a total of $140,000. The deal was set to go down at a prearranged location. On November 15, 2016, Task Force officers moved in, arresting both Lara and Rodriguez moments after Lara delivered the narcotics.

Lara has remained in custody since his arrest. On November 27, 2017, he pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of, 500 grams or more of cocaine. His guilty plea came months after Rodriguez, who had pleaded guilty to the same charge on July 18, 2017, and was sentenced to 42 months on November 21.

The investigation was a joint effort by the DEA’s Bridgeport HIDTA Task Force, along with the Stamford and Norwalk Police Departments. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Vizcarrondo, who emphasized the federal crackdown on drug networks exploiting local businesses.

Both Lara and Rodriguez now face deportation proceedings upon completion of their prison terms. U.S. Attorney John H. Durham reiterated that federal authorities are targeting not just street-level dealers but the supply chains that feed addiction and violence in Connecticut communities.

RELATED: Maria Miguelina Lara Lara Gets 3 Years for Heroin Trafficking

RELATED: Sureño Gunrunner Cardenas Gets 8 Years