Narcotics Trafficker Sentenced To More Than 11 Years In Federal Prison
NEW HAVEN, Conn. - John J. Arvanitis, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England and David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that Adrian Pinzon-Gallardo, also known as “The Mexican,” 27, a citizen of Mexico last residing in Bloomfield, Conn., was sentenced yesterday by United States District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant in Hartford to 135 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release, for trafficking heroin and cocaine. Pinzon-Gallardo also was ordered to pay a $50,000 fine.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in early 2011, the Drug Enforcement Administration in New Haven received information from the Connecticut State Police that an individual was selling substantial quantities of heroin from a residence at 28 Maltby Place in New Haven. Following a series of controlled purchases of heroin from that individual, the DEA New Haven Task Force initiated a court-authorized wiretap investigation. During the course of the wiretap investigation, it was determined that Pinzon-Gallardo of Bloomfield was supplying large quantities of heroin and cocaine to several individuals in Connecticut, including drug distributors in New Haven.
On September 2, 2011, DEA personnel from both New Haven and Providence, R.I., with the assistance of the Connecticut State Police, tracked Pinzon-Gallardo’s Jeep as it traveled from Connecticut to Providence where it was believed from wire intercepts that Pinzon-Gallardo intended to conduct a narcotics transaction. In Providence, the surveillance team observed Pinzon-Gallardo and an associate meet and then travel to a storage facility in Pawtucket, R.I. At the facility, Pinzon-Gallardo and his associate entered an open storage unit with several other individuals and closed the door. A short time later, Pinzon-Gallardo’s associate returned to the vehicle, retrieved a black backpack and walked back to the storage unit. Pinzon-Gallardo and his associate then returned to their vehicle and departed.
After driving to Boston, Pinzon-Gallardo and his associate drove a circuitous route back to Connecticut when their vehicle was stopped by Connecticut State Police on Interstate 84 after it crossed the Connecticut border. A search of the car revealed three bricks of heroin, weighing a total of approximately 736 grams of heroin, and approximately $14,000 in cash.
A subsequent search of the storage unit in Rhode Island revealed approximately eight kilograms of heroin, including three kilograms that were contained within a black backpack similar to the one that Pinzon-Gallardo’s associate had been seen carrying into the facility, approximately two kilograms of cocaine and approximately $35,000 in cash.
U.S. Attorney Fein noted that one kilogram of heroin can produce approximately 50,000 single-dosage unit bags of heroin.
Pinzon Gallardo has been detained since his arrest on September 2, 2011. On October 5, 2012, he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute, and to possess with intent to distribute, one kilogram or more of heroin.
This matter has been investigated by the DEA New Haven Task Force, which includes participants from the New Haven, Meriden, Hamden, West Haven, Branford and Ansonia Police Departments, and the United States Marshals Service. The New Britain Police Department substantially assisted the investigation.
