WATERBURY , CONNECTICUT – John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that RONEY SOSA, 24, of Waterbury, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant in Hartford to 87 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release for his role in a heroin and fentanyl trafficking ring.
According to court documents and statements made in court, an investigation by the DEA New Haven Task Force and the Waterbury Police Department revealed that Nestor Sosa-Ortiz operated a Waterbury-based drug trafficking organization that received large quantities of heroin and fentanyl from suppliers in Connecticut and New York and distributed the narcotics throughout New Haven County. The organization used an apartment located at 330 Bishop Street in Waterbury to store kilogram-quantities of heroin and fentanyl, and to process and package the drugs for street sale.
On May 18, 2020, Nestor Sosa-Ortiz was arrested in New York City on a separate federal heroin and fentanyl trafficking charge. On that date, law enforcement intercepted a planned drug transaction and seized approximately two kilograms of fentanyl and two kilograms of heroin. Roney Sosa drove a separate vehicle, which contained empty concealed apartment that could be used to transport narcotics, to the location of the planned drug transaction, but was not arrested at that time.
While he was detained pending trial in the New York case, Nestor Sosa-Ortiz continued to control his drug network while incarcerated by using smuggled cell phones to communicate with Roney Sosa and other co-conspirators. Sosa regularly processed and packaged narcotics at the Bishop apartment on behalf of the organization.
Roney Sosa and several co-defendants were arrested on October 29, 2019. On that date, investigators executed five search warrants and seized approximately six kilograms of suspected heroin/fentanyl, approximately 100,000 bags of suspected heroin/fentanyl packaged for street distribution, approximately 1,000 fentanyl pills disguised as Percocet pills, one firearm and approximately $50,000 in cash.
On June 9, 2020, Sosa pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute, and to possess with intent to distribute, one kilogram or more of heroin and 400 grams or more of fentanyl. He is currently detained.
Sosa-Ortiz pleaded guilty and awaits sentencing.
This investigation is being conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration New Haven Task Force and the Waterbury Police Department. The DEA New Haven Task Force includes participants from the U.S. Marshals Service, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division, and the New Haven, Hamden, West Haven, North Haven, Branford, Ansonia, Meriden, Derby, Middletown, Naugatuck and Waterbury Police Departments.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jocelyn Courtney Kaoutzanis and Lauren Clark 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.