Stamford Heroin Trafficker Sentenced to 78 Months in Federal Prison
BRIDGEPORT, CONN. – DEA New England Division Special Agent in Charge Brian D. Boyle and Leonard C Boyle, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that JOAQUIN VERAS, 47, of Stamford, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport to 78 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release, for trafficking heroin.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in March and May 2019, investigators made two controlled purchases of approximately 100 grams of heroin each from Veras. Investigators then arranged to purchase a kilogram of heroin from Veras for $58,000.
On May 16, 2019, Veras was arrested in possession of approximately one kilogram of heroin. A search of a Stamford apartment that Veras used as a stash location revealed another kilogram of heroin, a quantity of cocaine, items used to process and package narcotics for sale, and $7,000 in cash.
Veras has been detained since his arrest. He pleaded guilty on September 28, 2020.
In August 2011, Veras was sentenced in the Eastern District of New York to 57 months of imprisonment for conspiring to distribute heroin.
This matter was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Bridgeport High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force and the Stamford Police Department. The Task Force includes personnel from the DEA, Connecticut State Police and Norwalk, Stamford, Stratford, Milford, Bridgeport and Trumbull Police Departments.
