Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Brian D. Boyle, Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent for New England, announced today that a federal grand jury in Hartford yesterday returned an indictment OSCAR FLORES34, from Mount Rainier, Maryland, and SEVERO ALELAR25, of Hyattsville, Maryland, with fentanyl trafficking offenses.
Court documents and court testimonies allege that on September 8, 2022, Flores, Alelar and others arrived in an SUV at a Wethersfield meeting place to sell approximately 15,000 fentanyl pills to an undercover DEA agent. After Flores showed the undercover agent a sample of the fentanyl pills, the agent stated that he had to travel to another location to collect the money. Flores, Alelar, and the others followed the undercover agent’s vehicle as they drove south to Rocky Hill. When a Rocky Hill police officer attempted to stop the SUV for a traffic violation, the SUV accelerated and went over a curb onto a roadside lawn, where police vehicles blocked it. Investigators searched the SUV and found numerous Nerds candy boxes and Skittles candy bags containing thousands of fentanyl pills.
“Fentanyl trafficking is already, and undoubtedly, a serious offence, but one need not stretch one’s imagination too far to consider how the concealing of fentanyl pills in children’s candy wrappers, we claim, has resulted in even more tragic consequences for the community can lead,” said US Attorney Avery. “I thank the members of the DEA Task Force for their work on this investigation and for taking this significant amount of fentanyl off the streets.”
“Fentanyl is causing record numbers of deaths and DEA’s top priority is to aggressively prosecute anyone who distributes this poison to profit and destroy people’s lives,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Boyle. “Illegal drug distribution is devastating the very foundation of our families and communities, so every time we take fentanyl-containing pills off the streets, lives are undoubtedly saved. This investigation demonstrates the strength of the collaborative efforts of Connecticut’s local, regional and state law enforcement agencies and our strong partnership with the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices.”
The indictment charges Flores and Alelar with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or more fentanyl and possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more fentanyl. Each charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and a maximum of 40 years.
US Attorney Avery emphasized that an indictment is not proof of guilt. Accusations are only accusations, and everyone accused is presumed innocent until proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
Flores and Alelar have been detained since September 8, 2022.
This investigation is being conducted by the DEA’s Hartford Task Force, which includes personnel from the DEA Hartford Resident Office, Connecticut State Police and Bristol, Hartford, East Hartford, Enfield, Manchester, New Britain, Rocky Hill, Wethersfield, Windsor Locks and Willimantic Police Departments. The case is being prosecuted by US Assistant Attorney Geoffrey M. Stone 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 prosecutorial-led and intelligence-led approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. For more information about the OCDETF program, visit https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
