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Jean Carlos Mercado, age 34, was sentenced on Friday, Feb. 10 to 50 months in prison for participating in a drug trafficking organization that sent kilogram quantities of cocaine through the US Mail, according to the US Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut.
In October 2020, authorities identified several suspicious packages that were being mailed to an address in Meridan from Puerto Rico. On Oct. 26, 2020, Mercado was identified when he went to the address to pick up one such package.
Days later, on Nov. 6, 2020, Mercado was seen picking up another package, leading investigators to pull his unregistered vehicle over. The vehicle was then towed away, and the package was seized.
A search of the package revealed two kilograms of cocaine, officials said.
Over the next few months, Mercado picked up more similarly-suspicious packages, and authorities ultimately seized four more kilograms of cocaine that had been linked to him.
On July 21, 2021, Mercado was arrested on a federal criminal complaint. He pleaded guilty days later on July 26 to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine.
After he was sentenced, Mercado was handed over to the US Marshals Service to begin his sentence. After he is released, he will serve three years of supervised release.
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