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Stamford residents Arber Isaku and Vincent Decaro, both age 32, were sentenced on Monday, Aug. 8, according to Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States attorney for the District of Connecticut.
Isaku was sentenced to 51 months in prison and three years of supervised release, and Decaro was sentenced to 48 months in prison and three years of supervised release, Avery said.
Decaro pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl analogs on June 15, 2021, and Isaku pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute fentanyl analogs on Aug. 6, 2021, according to the report.
Isaku and Decaro purchased fentanyl analogs from suppliers in China, and the two men pressed the drug into counterfeit oxycodone pills at Decaro's home on West Hill Circle in Stamford, selling them to customers on dark web markets, the US Attorney's Office said.
They were also helped by David Reichard, who lived at the home for a short period of time, Avery reported.
According to the US Attorney's Office, a search of the home on April 3, 2018, revealed the following:
- Numerous pills containing approximately 330 grams of fentanyl and acetyl fentanyl
- About 40 grams of fentanyl analogs in powder form
- Three pill presses
- Instructions on how to prepare the fentanyl analog Carfentanil
- A hazardous material suit
- A gas/respirator-type mask
- Numerous US Postal mail envelopes
Isaku and Decaro were in Europe at the time of the search, and they were arrested by Albanian State Police on Sept. 21, 2018, while attempting to cross the border into Kosovo, Avery said.
The US Attorney's Office said the following items were found during a search of the apartment where they had been staying:
- Alprazolam
- Fentanyl
- Other controlled substances
- Tools and dies for pressing pills
- Instructions for synthesizing fentanyl
Isaku is required to report to prison on Wednesday, Sept. 21, and Decaro is required to report to prison on Wednesday, Nov. 2, according to the report.
The US Attorney's Office said Reichard has pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing.
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