Press Release
Three Charged with Hartford-Area Fentanyl and Cocaine Trafficking Offenses
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Connecticut
Leonard C Boyle, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England, today announced that a federal grand jury in Hartford has returned a five-count indictment charging DENIS MURTIC, 36, of Farmington; ALEXANDER RODRIGUEZ, 45, of East Windsor; and EFRAIN ROSARIO, 41, of Hartford, with fentanyl and cocaine trafficking offenses.
As alleged in court documents, since September 2020, the DEA’s Hartford Task Force has been investigating Murtic for trafficking large quantities of fentanyl and cocaine. On September 3, 2020, a court-authorized search of a Hartford apartment connected to Murtic revealed thousands of wax folds of fentanyl, more than 700 grams of cocaine, and items used to process and package narcotics for distribution. On October 18, 2021, investigators made a controlled purchase of approximately 50 grams of fentanyl from Murtic and Rodriguez at a parking lot in East Hartford. After the transaction, investigators observed Murtic and Rodriguez travel to an apartment on Wakefield Circle in East Hartford. On October 26, 2021, Murtic, Rodriguez and Rosario were arrested at the apartment, which was being used as a narcotics processing and packing mill. A search of the apartment revealed tens of thousands of glassine bags and wax folds of fentanyl, a compressed brick of cocaine weighing approximately one kilogram, a half-kilogram of cocaine, and numerous narcotics processing and packaging items, including a kilogram press.
The indictment, which was returned on November 3, charges Murtic, Rodriguez and Rosario with conspiracy to distribute, and to possess with intent to distribute, 400 grams or more of fentanyl and 500 grams or more of cocaine. The defendants are also charged in multiple counts of possessing and/or distributing fentanyl and cocaine. If convicted of the most serious charges, each faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years a maximum term of imprisonment of life.
Acting U.S. Attorney Boyle stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Murtic and Rosario are currently detained and Rodriguez is released on a $100,000 bond.
The DEA’s Hartford Task Force includes personnel from the DEA Hartford Resident Office, the Connecticut State Police, and the Bristol, Hartford, East Hartford, Enfield, Manchester, New Britain, Rocky Hill, Wethersfield, Windsor Locks and Willimantic Police Departments. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. 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 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.
Updated November 8, 2021
Topics
Drug Trafficking
Opioids