HARTFORD, CT – Carlos Antonio Crespo-Febus, 43, from New London, was handed down a sentence of 188 months in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea, to be succeeded by three years of supervised release. This sentencing comes as a consequence of Crespo-Febus’s involvement in trafficking substantial amounts of cocaine from Puerto Rico to Connecticut, utilizing the U.S. Mail for distribution.
The operation came under scrutiny in April 2021 when the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Narcotics and Bulk Cash Trafficking Task Force, in conjunction with the Drug Enforcement Administration, initiated an investigation into the cocaine trafficking scheme spearheaded by Crespo-Febus. Investigations disclosed that Crespo-Febus orchestrated the dispatch of packages, primarily containing two kilograms of cocaine each, from Puerto Rico’s postal offices to multiple “drop addresses” in New London County. To facilitate this illicit network, Crespo-Febus enlisted at least three individuals to accept cocaine parcels at their residences and hired at least two “runners” to retrieve and deliver the parcels to him, compensating each runner with $500 per parcel delivery.
During the course of the investigation, around 16 kilograms of cocaine en route from Puerto Rico to Connecticut were intercepted and confiscated. Furthermore, numerous other suspicious parcels likely laden with kilogram quantities of cocaine were identified. Crespo-Febus acknowledged trafficking a minimum of 50 kilograms of cocaine.
The law caught up with Crespo-Febus on September 20, 2021, leading to his detention. He entered a guilty plea to the charge of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine on October 21, 2022.
Crespo-Febus’s criminal dossier is not limited to drug trafficking. It also includes a second-degree murder conviction in Puerto Rico, resulting in an 11-year and four-month incarceration term, and a 2013 federal conviction for unlawful possession of a firearm, which led to a 60-month imprisonment sentence. The lengthy history of criminal conduct and the extensive cocaine trafficking operation orchestrated by Crespo-Febus culminated in today’s significant sentencing, marking a notable achievement in the ongoing battle against drug trafficking in the region.