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Meriden Man Indicted for Trafficking Fentanyl

Publication date: 
Tuesday, June 14, 2022

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England, announced that a federal grand jury in New Haven returned an indictment today charging GERARDO NUNEZ-IRIZARRY, also known as “Indio,” 43, of Meriden, with possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl.

As alleged in court documents and statements made in court, between June and August 2021, law enforcement made multiple controlled purchases of fentanyl from Nunez-Irizarry.  In November 2021, Nunez-Irizarry agreed to sell a 50-gram quantity of fentanyl.  On November 18, 2021, investigators stopped Nunez-Irizarry’s car in Meriden as he drove to an arranged location to complete the transaction and seized approximately 50 grams of fentanyl.  He was arrested on state charges at that time.

Nunez-Irizarry was arrested on a federal criminal complaint on March 24, 2022.

If convicted of the charge, Nunez-Irizarry faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of five years and a maximum term of imprisonment of 40 years.

U.S. Attorney Avery stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt.  Charges are only allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Nunez-Irizarry is currently released on a $100,000 bond.

This matter is being investigated by the DEA’s New Haven Task Force, which includes personnel from the DEA, U.S. Marshals Service, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division, and the New Haven, East Haven, West Haven, Meriden, Waterbury, Branford, Ansonia, and Middletown Police Departments as well as from the Connecticut State Police.  The investigation has been supported by the Meriden Police Department and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Narcotics and Bulk Cash Trafficking Task Force, which includes members from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Postal Service – Office of the Inspector General, the Connecticut Army National Guard, and the Hartford, New Britain, Meriden and Town of Groton Police Departments.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Konstantin Lantsman 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.

Additional Details
URL
Component
USAO - Connecticut;Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces;
OIG
United States Postal Service OIG