Indictment Charges Danbury Resident with Fentanyl Trafficking Offense

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Robert Fuller, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, today announced that JAIRO ABREU, 31, of Danbury, has been charged by indictment with a fentanyl trafficking offense.

As alleged in court documents and statements made in court, an investigation by the FBI’s Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force and Hartford Police Department revealed that Abreu was trafficking fentanyl into Hartford.  Abreu was arrested on state charges on October 17, 2023.  Following his arrest, a search of his Danbury residence revealed approximately three kilograms of fentanyl and an additional approximately 2,000 wax sleeves containing fentanyl.

Abreu was arrested on a federal criminal complaint on February 23, 2024.  On March 6, a grand jury in New Haven returned an indictment charging him with possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl.  Abreu appeared yesterday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert A. Richardson in Hartford, entered a plea of not guilty to the charge, and was released on a $100,000 bond.

If convicted of the charge, Abreu faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of five years and a maximum term of 40 years.

U.S. Attorney Avery stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The FBI’s Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force includes members of the Hartford Police Department, East Hartford Police Department, Manchester Police Department, New Britain Police Department, West Hartford Police Department, Connecticut State Police and Connecticut Department of Correction.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Geoffrey M. Stone and Sean P. Mahard 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.