Two Maryland men are facing serious charges after allegedly trafficking thousands of fentanyl pills into Connecticut. According to authorities, Oscar Flores, 34, of Mount Rainier, Maryland, and Severo Alelar, 25, of Hyattsville, Maryland, were involved in a large-scale fentanyl trafficking operation.
On September 8, 2022, Flores and Alelar arrived at a meeting location in Wethersfield to sell approximately 15,000 fentanyl pills to an undercover DEA agent. The pills were allegedly hidden in Nerds candy boxes and Skittles candy bags. When a Rocky Hill police officer attempted to stop their SUV for a traffic violation, they sped and ran over a roadside curb. Law enforcement vehicles boxed them in, and investigators searched the SUV, finding the large quantity of fentanyl pills.
“Trafficking fentanyl is already and undoubtedly a serious offense, but one doesn’t have to stretch their imagination too far to consider how disguising fentanyl pills in children’s candy packaging, as we allege, can result in even more tragic consequences in the community,” said U.S. Attorney Vanessa Roberts Avery. “I thank the DEA Task Force members for their work in this investigation and for taking this substantial quantity of fentanyl off the street.”
Flores and Alelar have been detained since September 8, 2022. The indictment charges them with conspiracy to distribute, and to possess with intent to distribute, 40 grams or more of fentanyl, and with possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl. Each charge carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of five years and a maximum term of imprisonment of 40 years.
Flores and Alelar are 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.
This investigation is being conducted by the DEA’s Hartford Task Force, which includes personnel from the DEA Hartford Resident Office, the Connecticut State Police, and the Bristol, Hartford, East Hartford, Enfield, Manchester, New Britain, Rocky Hill, Wethersfield, Windsor Locks, and Willimantic Police Departments.
Flores and Alelar have been detained since September 8, 2022. The investigation is ongoing, and authorities are working to dismantle the fentanyl trafficking operation.
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Key Facts
- State: Connecticut
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Violent Crime|Public Corruption
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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