United States Drug Enforcement Administration

HARTFORD, Conn. - Michael J. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’(DEA’s) New England Field Division, and Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that BRAYAN GOMEZ, 26, of East Hartford, was sentenced yesterday by Chief U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall in New Haven to 60 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for trafficking heroin. 

According to court documents and statements made in court, the DEA’s Hartford Task Force initiated an investigation into a large-scale heroin trafficking organization in Hartford that was being operated by a close associate of GOMEZ.  In March 2014, the DEA Task Force received information that GOMEZ’s associate was in possession of a large quantity of heroin.

On March 20, 2014, investigators observed GOMEZ leave his former residence on Sisson Avenue in Hartford, drive to his associate’s residence on Prospect Street in East Hartford and enter the residence.  A short time later, GOMEZ drove a separate vehicle away from the East Hartford residence to a hotel in East Hartford and then entered the hotel.  After approximately 20 minutes, GOMEZ walked out of the hotel with a large duffel bag that he did not have with him when he entered the hotel.  He placed the bag in the trunk of his vehicle and then drove away.

Investigators conducted a motor vehicle stop of the vehicle on Prospect Street in East Hartford.  After GOMEZ gave his consent to a search of the vehicle, investigators removed the duffel bag from the trunk and seized 99.8 grams of raw heroin and 13,317 bags of heroin, packaged for street sale, containing 278.8 grams of heroin.  In addition, investigators seized more than 25,000 empty bags used for packaging heroin, as well as other items used in the processing and packaging of heroin.  On September 14, 2015, GOMEZ pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin.

The DEA Hartford Task Force includes participants from the Bristol, East Hartford, Hartford, Manchester, New Britain, Newington and Wethersfield Police Departments.