News Release
For Immediate Release:
April 26, 2010
Contact: Special Agent Tony Pettigrew
Number: 617-557-2138

Stamford Man Sentenced To 30 Months In Federal Prison For Distributing Crack Cocaine

APR 26 -- Steven W. Derr, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England and Nora R. Dannehy, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that CARIBE BILLIE, 34, of Henry Street, Stamford, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Janet Bond Arterton in New Haven to 30 months of imprisonment, followed by one year of supervised release, for distributing crack cocaine. On February 4, 2010, BILLIE pleaded guilty to one count of using a telephone to facilitate the distribution of cocaine base (“crack cocaine”).

This matter stems from an Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (“OCDETF”) investigation dubbed “Operation Big Loot,” a six-month investigation that was spearheaded by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Stamford Police Department’s Narcotics and Organized Crime Squad. As a result of the investigation, a total of 51 individuals have been charged in state and federal court with various narcotics offenses related to the distribution of cocaine and crack cocaine in the Stamford area. During the investigation, law enforcement officers seized approximately $164,000 in cash, more than one kilogram of cocaine and approximately 750 grams of crack cocaine.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in October 2009, BILLIE bought between four and five grams of crack cocaine, parts of which he sold in smaller quantities or delivered to other drug dealers. BILLIE had been released from prison in July 2009 after serving nearly 14 years for a manslaughter conviction.

BILLIE has been detained since his arrest on December 3, 2009.

This matter was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Bridgeport High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force – which is composed of members of the Bridgeport, Stamford, Norwalk and Stratford Police Departments, and the Connecticut State Police – the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Stamford Police Department’s Narcotics and Organized Crime Squad. The United States Marshals Service, the Connecticut State Police, and the Norwalk, Bridgeport, Darien, Greenwich and Danbury Police Departments assisted in the arrests of several of the defendants.