Leonard C Boyle, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that ANDRE SMITH, also known as “Dre,” 42, of Woodstock, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant in Hartford to 41 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for distributing cocaine and crack.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in 2018, the FBI, Norwich Police Department and other law enforcement agencies began investigating a drug trafficking organization that was distributing heroin, cocaine and crack cocaine in southeastern Connecticut. The investigation, which included court-authorized wiretaps and six controlled purchases of crack from Harold Butler, revealed that Butler and others were distributing narcotics to drug users and other street-level dealers, including Smith, in southeastern Connecticut. Butler also used his Norwich business, Hat Boyz, to store and distribute narcotics.
Smith was arrested on February 20, 2019. On March 5, 2019, a grand jury returned an indictment charging Smith, Butler and 11 other individuals with narcotics trafficking offenses. On October 12, 2021, Smith pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and cocaine base (“crack”).
Smith, who is released on bond, is required to report to prison on March 23.
Butler pleaded guilty and, on October 9, 2019, was sentenced to 77 months of imprisonment.
This investigation has been conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Connecticut State Police and Norwich, Town of Groton and Waterford Police Departments, with the assistance of the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office, Baltimore Police Department and Delaware State Police. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Natasha M. Freismuth 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.
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