WATERBURY, Conn. (1010 WINS) -- A New Haven DEA task force arrested 14 people on Wednesday during a massive drug bust in Waterbury that also yielded 18 kilos of drugs, $290,000 in cash and $400,000 worth of jewelry, the Department of Justice announced on Thursday.
Police arrest alleged ringleaders Javier Gonzalez, 50, and Jose Duprey, 51, after wiretapping phones, executing purchasing stings and carrying out search warrants on homes and stash houses.
Law enforcement believes the group was selling fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, crack, oxycodone and cannabis.
“As too many Connecticut residents continue to lose their battle with drug addiction, and too many families and communities are impacted by the resulting trauma that addiction causes, we in the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners are steadfast in our commitment to stop the flow of these deadly drugs into and around our state,” said U.S. Attorney Vanessa Roberts Avery. “We will prosecute those involved to the full extent of federal law.”
During a raid on one of Duprey’s alleged stash houses on the Straits Turnpike in Middlebury, police found 12 kilograms of a drug mixture that included fentanyl, one kilo of black tar heroin and $40,000 in cash.
At one of Gonzalez’s homes, police found two kilograms of cocaine laced with fentanyl, two kilograms of heroin and $200,000 in cash.
Federal prosecutors charged all 14 defendants with conspiracy to distribute narcotics for which they all face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison if convicted.
Some defendants could face more time based on the type of drug that was associated with their arrest.
Javier Gonzalez and his brother Francisco Gonzalez are also charged with cash smuggling, which is punishable by up to five years in prison.
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