BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (WTNH) — A California man was sentenced to six and a half years in federal prison, plus four years of supervised release Wednesday for trafficking fentanyl and cocaine into Connecticut.
According to the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Hartford Task Force began investigating an organization distributing “kilogram quantities” of fentanyl and cocaine in Connecticut in 2022.
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It was determined during the investigation that the group was receiving the drugs from sources in California via Mexico. In February 2023, investigators intercepted two packages mailed from a member of the group from a post office in West Hartford to southern California.
One of the packages contained around $6,500 in cash and two new Apple iPhones while the second contained around $38,300 in cash. It was also determined that members of the East Hartford-based Loose Cannonz motorcycle club were sent fentanyl and cocaine to distribute in the Hartford area.
Investigators learned that 37-year-old Jonathan Garcia of Long Beach, California and another person were coordinating the shipment of the drugs from Mexico to Connecticut and that Garcia sometimes traveled to Connecticut himself to facilitate the transactions and collect proceeds.
Garcia had been previously convicted on a federal cocaine trafficking charge in California in 2017.
Garcia was arrested on Oct. 24, 2023 and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess 500 grams or more of cocaine with intent to distribute on Aug. 11, 2025. He was released on bond and is required to report to prison on April 22.
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