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Lorenzo Morales-Arambula, also known as “Viejo,” 59, a citizen of Mexico, was sentenced Tuesday, Dec. 22, to 156 months of imprisonment for trafficking cocaine and heroin, said U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut John Durham.
Morales-Arambula's sentencing stems from a joint investigation headed by the DEA New Haven Task Force, FBI, and New Haven Police Department that included the use of court-authorized wiretaps, controlled purchases of heroin and cocaine, and seizures of bulk heroin and cocaine, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
The investigation revealed that Duane Filyaw, of New Haven, and Salvatore Orsini, of West Haven, and others operated a heroin and cocaine trafficking ring in which they conspired to purchase narcotics from suppliers and then distribute the drugs to other suppliers and street-level dealers in and around New Haven.
Court-authorized wiretaps revealed that Filyaw and Orsini had established a heroin and cocaine supply connection with Morales-Arambula, officials said.
In multiple intercepted calls between Filyaw and Morales-Arambula, Morales-Arambula agreed to supply Filyaw with kilogram quantities of cocaine and heroin that Morales-Arambula would receive from sources in Mexico and northern California.
However, in January 2018, before the narcotics transactions with Filyaw could be completed, Morales-Arambula was detained in Michigan and charged in federal court with unlawful reentry of a removed alien.
During the investigation, law enforcement officers seized more than 500 grams of heroin, more than 300 grams of fentanyl, more than one kilogram of cocaine, three firearms, over $90,000 in cash, vehicles, jewelry, and precious metals.
On April 19, 2018, a grand jury in New Haven returned an indictment charging Morales-Arambula, Filyaw, Orsini, and 16 other individuals with narcotics trafficking offenses.
Morales-Arambula has been detained since January 14, 2018. On January 28, he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin and five kilograms or more of cocaine.
Morales-Arambula’s criminal history includes multiple federal convictions, including convictions for firearms, drug and immigration offenses, and for causing a riot at a federal correctional facility in Texas in 2008.
He has been deported to Mexico twice, and subsequently reentered the U.S. without authorization.
Filyaw and Orsini have pleaded guilty and await sentencing.
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