Former Wethersfield Resident Sentenced to Prison for Distributing Narcotics

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that SHANE J. SAWICKI, 29, of Farmington, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to 21 months of imprisonment, followed by four years of supervised release, for distributing legitimate and counterfeit prescription pills, and other drugs.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Sawicki first came to the attention of law enforcement as a result of an investigation into a drug overdose that occurred outside of his Wethersfield apartment on September 18, 2021.  Subsequent investigation revealed that Sawicki was connected to a drug trafficking organization in Illinois that was coordinating the sale and shipment of Xanax and crystal methamphetamine from California, and that he was receiving mailed packages containing Farmapram, which is a Mexican brand of alprazolam (Xanax).  In April 2022, investigators conducted a court-authorized search of a package that was mailed from California to Sawicki’s Wethersfield address.  The package contained two bottles containing a total of 180 Farmapram pills.  Investigators also identified four similar parcels that had been mailed to Sawicki’s address prior to April 2022.

On April 29, 2022, investigators conducted a court authorized search of Sawicki’s apartment and seized thousands of counterfeit Adderall pills containing methamphetamine, a small quantity of counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl, a distribution quantity of cocaine, numerous other bags and containers of assorted pills of different colors and shapes, a container of MDMA, and three bottles of Farmapram pills.  A subsequent search of Sawicki’s cell phone revealed photographs of large quantities of pills, a large amount of U.S. currency, and numerous text message conversations regarding the sale of illicit substances.

Sawicki was arrested on a federal criminal complaint on July 7, 2022.  He pleaded guilty on February 16, 2023.

Sawicki, who is released on a $100,000 bond, is required to report to prison on December 15.

This investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Hartford Task Force, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Wethersfield Police Department.  The DEA Task Force includes personnel from the DEA Hartford Resident Office and the Bristol, Hartford, East Hartford, Enfield, Manchester, New Britain, Rocky Hill, Wethersfield, and Windsor Locks Police Departments.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney A. Reed Durham.