United States Drug Enforcement Administration

ANSONIA, Conn. - David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, Jarod Forget, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England, and Stamford Police Chief Timothy Shaw today announced that JOSUE MUNIZ, 35, of Ansonia, pleaded guilty yesterday in New Haven federal court to a fentanyl and cocaine distribution offense.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in 2024, the Drug Enforcement Administration and Stamford Police Department learned that an individual, subsequently identified as Muniz, was trafficking fentanyl and cocaine in the Naugatuck Valley.  Investigators conducted multiple undercover purchases of narcotics from Muniz in November and December 2024.  On December 20, 2024, after investigators coordinated a purchase of narcotics, Muniz was arrested at a car dealership in Milford where he was employed.  Muniz possessed approximately 58 grams of fentanyl at time of his arrest, and related searches of his vehicle and Ansonia residence revealed quantities of fentanyl and crack cocaine.

Muniz pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl and a quantity of cocaine, an offense that carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of five years and a maximum term of imprisonment of 40 years.  A sentencing date is not scheduled.

Muniz, whose criminal history includes state felony convictions for narcotics offenses, has been detained since his arrest.

This matter has been investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Stamford Police Department.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Lembo.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.