Home New Haven Press Releases 2009 Former Pennsylvania Resident Guilty of Importing Cocaine Hidden in Banana Shipments from Colombia
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Former Pennsylvania Resident Guilty of Importing Cocaine Hidden in Banana Shipments from Colombia

U.S. Attorney’s Office June 26, 2009
  • District of Connecticut (203) 821-3700

Nora R. Dannehy, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that a federal jury in Hartford has found ANTONIO MIGUEL ARIAS, also known as “Miguel” and “Gilberto Miranda,” 38, a citizen of the Dominican Republic last residing in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, guilty of importing large amounts of cocaine into the United States. Specifically, the jury found ARIAS guilty of one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, and one count of attempting to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. The trial began on Monday, June 22, and the jury returned the verdicts this afternoon after less than two hours of deliberation.

This matter stems from a five-month investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Safe Streets Task Force. According to the evidence disclosed during the trial, ARIAS headed a cocaine importation organization that was responsible for shipping hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Turbo, Colombia to Bridgeport, Connecticut. The cocaine was hidden in commercial shipments of bananas, which were transported, along with the cocaine, to various commercial fruit wholesalers in Connecticut and New York. The cocaine-laden packages were then transported to a fruit distribution company operated by ARIAS at 1313 Viele Avenue, the Bronx, where the cocaine was removed and then sold.

On August 7, 2007, agents seized 444 kilograms of cocaine that had been transported to Bridgeport aboard the Napier Star, a commercial transport ship operated by the Turbana fruit company. From the port at Bridgeport, the drugs were shipped within pallets of bananas to the Hunt’s Point Fruit Market in the Bronx, a complex of regional commercial fruit distributors. As the cocaine-laden pallets were being removed from the market, FBI agents, acting on informant information, seized the load. Thereafter, a member of the ARIAS conspiracy was recruited by the FBI in Connecticut to provide and gather information and evidence on the organization. The investigation culminated in the seizure of an additional 50 kilograms of cocaine at a commercial fruit warehouse in New Haven on December 4, 2007.

United States District Judge Alvin B. Thompson has scheduled ARIAS’ sentencing for September 14, 2009, at which time he faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 20 years, a maximum term of imprisonment of life, and a fine of up to $4 million, on each count. He also faces deportation to the Dominican Republic following service of his sentence.

On December 13, 2007, ARIAS, Jesus Arias, Raymond Pacheco, and Nelson Santiago were indicted by a federal grand jury sitting in Bridgeport for their participation in this cocaine trafficking conspiracy. Pacheco and Santiago have pleaded guilty and await sentencing. Jesus Arias remains a fugitive.

This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Safe Streets Task Force, with the assistance of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Acting U.S. Attorney Dannehy praised the cooperative effort of the FBI in both Connecticut and the Southern District of New York, and specifically noted the assistance of the New Haven Police Department and Officer Michael Mastropetre, who led the investigation.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney H. Gordon Hall of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force.

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