Pedro Santos, Heroin Trafficking, Connecticut 2020

WATERBURY, CT – Pedro Santos, 47, of Waterbury, is headed to federal prison for 66 months after being convicted of trafficking heroin and cocaine. U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall handed down the sentence in New Haven today, followed by four years of supervised release. The conviction is the latest fallout from a sprawling investigation into a Waterbury-based drug operation.

The case, spearheaded by the DEA New Haven Task Force and local police in Waterbury and Naugatuck, exposed a network distributing heroin and cocaine throughout the region. Court documents reveal the operation was headed by Keith Jordan of Waterbury, who allegedly sourced large quantities of heroin, including from Santos, and pushed the drugs to both distributors and street-level dealers. Cocaine was also a key component of Jordan’s illicit business.

Investigators utilized court-authorized wiretaps, physical surveillance, and controlled buys to build their case. Intercepted phone calls from November and December 2018 allegedly placed Santos directly involved in receiving narcotics from co-conspirators and funneling them to street-level distributors. The scale of the operation became clear when a grand jury returned an indictment in Hartford on March 13, 2019, charging Santos, Jordan, and 27 others with various drug offenses including heroin, fentanyl, cocaine, and crack cocaine.

A massive wave of arrests hit on March 20, 2019, but Santos remained a fugitive. Law enforcement finally apprehended him in Holyoke, Massachusetts, on August 8, 2019, and he’s been detained ever since. The raids connected to the arrests yielded a staggering haul: approximately 3,000 bags of heroin, 400 grams of cocaine, 350 grams of fentanyl/heroin mix, another 400 grams of heroin, 10 grams of crack, 20 pounds of marijuana, fentanyl patches, a kilogram press, four handguns, roughly $120,000 in cash, and four vehicles.

Santos ultimately pleaded guilty on January 23, 2020, to one count of conspiracy to distribute, and possession with intent to distribute, 100 grams or more of heroin. Jordan has also pleaded guilty and is awaiting his sentencing date. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut, led by John H. Durham, prosecuted the case with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorneys S. Dave Vatti and Nathaniel J. Gentile.

The investigation wasn’t solely the work of the DEA. The DEA New Haven Task Force drew support from a broad coalition of agencies, including the U.S. Marshals Service, IRS – Criminal Investigation Division, and police departments across New Haven County. Critically, the U.S. Secret Service, New York Field Office, also provided essential assistance in dismantling the drug ring. This case underscores the continued prevalence of heroin and cocaine trafficking in Connecticut, and the coordinated effort required to combat it.

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