Charges against two Maryland men include smuggling thousands of fentanyl tablets into Connecticut. A federal grand jury in Hartford indicted Oscar Flores, 34, of Mount Rainier, Maryland, and Severo Alelar, 25, of Hyattsville, Maryland, according to the U.S. State’s Attorney for the District of Connecticut.
On September 8, 2022, Flores, Alelar, and others showed up in an SUV at a meeting place in Wethersfield to sell around 15,000 fentanyl tablets to a DEA agent working undercover, according to court records and testimony given in court. The undercover agent needed to go to another place to pick up the money, the agent said after Flores displayed a sample of the fentanyl tablets to him. Flores, Alelar, and the others followed the covert agent’s car into Rocky Hill from the south.
The SUV’s driver sped up and drove over a roadside curb onto a grassy area where law enforcement cars had boxed it in when a Rocky Hill police officer tried to pull it over for a traffic infraction. Numerous Skittles candy packs and Nerds candy boxes packed with thousands of fentanyl tablets were discovered by investigators while searching the SUV.
According to the U.S. Attorney, Vanessa Roberts Avery, “trafficking fentanyl is already and unquestionably a serious offense, but one doesn’t have to stretch their imagination to consider how disguising fentanyl pills in children’s candy packaging, as we allege, can result in even more tragic consequences in the community. “I appreciate the efforts of the DEA Task Force personnel in this investigation and for removing this significant amount of fentanyl from circulation.”
According to DEA Special Agent in Charge Brian Boyle, “Fentanyl is causing fatalities in historic numbers and DEA’s primary objective is to aggressively pursue anybody who spreads this poison in order to make money and destroy people’s lives.” “Every time we remove fentanyl-containing tablets off the streets, lives are unquestionably saved since illegal drug distribution destroys the fundamental foundations of our families and communities. This investigation highlights the effectiveness of Connecticut’s coordinated local, county, and state law enforcement operations as well as our close cooperation with the U.S. Attorney’s Offices.”
The indictment accused Flores and Alelar of conspiring to distribute and possess fentanyl with a street value of 40 grams or more, as well as of possessing the drug with the purpose to distribute it.
Each charge has a required minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum sentence of forty years. Since September 8, Flores and Alelar have been in custody.
It is a widespread poisoning. The fentanyl epidemic is what Derek Maltz, a former head of special operations for the DEA, is referring about. Maltz urges parents to educate themselves in an interview with Fox News since the lethal substance is being passed off as sweets.
The Justice Department said on Friday that two individuals from Maryland had been accused with smuggling thousands of fentanyl tablets into Connecticut that were disguised as common candies.
Maltz wants parents to be alerted that the lethal rainbow-colored tablets may be sold to children given that Halloween is just a few weeks away. Authorities in Connecticut recently found 15,000 tablets that were passed off as candy. According to police, the pills were hidden within Skittles and Nerds wrappers.
On “Fox & Friends” on Tuesday, Maltz stated, “We’re witnessing an unprecedented volume of youngsters dying as early as 13 years old.”
The DEA claims that 40% of the tablets contain a potentially fatal amount of fentanyl, which is what we already know.
Maltz stated that cartels are using social media sites to sell narcotics, capitalizing on young people’s infatuation with the internet. Maltz stated that the youngsters who are the focus of these transactions might not be aware of the dangers.
