United States Drug Enforcement Administration

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. - Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that YOANNI SUAREZ, also known as “Cuba,” 48, last residing in Springfield, Massachusetts, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to 84 months of imprisonment, followed by four years of supervised release, for trafficking fentanyl and cocaine, and for violating the conditions of his supervised release from a prior federal conviction.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in April 2016, Suarez was sentenced in Hartford federal court to 78 months of imprisonment and four years of supervised release for trafficking heroin.  He was released from federal prison in April 2021.

In July 2022, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Hartford Task Force began investigating a large-scale drug trafficking organization that was distributing kilogram quantities of fentanyl and cocaine in Connecticut.  The investigation, which included court-authorized wiretaps, physical and electronic surveillance, controlled purchases of narcotics, and other investigative techniques, revealed that the head of the drug trafficking organization was receiving narcotics from sources in California via Mexico, and using Suarez’s son, Giovanny Jorrin, to send narcotics proceeds back to his sources.  In February 2023, investigators seized two parcels that were mailed by Jorrin from a post office in West Hartford to California.  One of the packages contained approximately $6,500 in cash and two new Apple iPhones, and the second package contained approximately $38,300 in cash.

Further investigation revealed that Suarez had a prior relationship with an identified narcotics source of supply.  While on federal supervised release, Suarez helped arrange for packages of fentanyl and cocaine to be shipped to Connecticut, coordinated the sale of drugs to others in the Hartford area, and assisted in the collection and shipment of drug proceeds back to the source.

Suarez has been detained since his arrest on June 7, 2023.  On June 13, 2023, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl.

Jorrin pleaded guilty to a related charge and, on June 7, 2024, was sentenced to 24 months of imprisonment.

This investigation is being conducted by the DEA’s Hartford Task Force, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.  The Task Force includes personnel from the DEA Hartford Resident Office, the Connecticut State Police, and the Bristol, Hartford, East Hartford, Enfield, Manchester, New Britain, Rocky Hill, Wethersfield, and Windsor Locks Police Departments.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert S. Dearington and A. Reed Durham.

The case is being prosecuted through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Program.  OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs and transnational criminal organizations through a prosecutor-led and intelligence-driven approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.  Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.