East Hartford Man Sentenced In Fentanyl Dealing Case

EAST HARTFORD, CT — A former East Hartford resident has been sentenced to three years in federal prison for dealing fentanyl, according to a statement from federal prosecutors. Marco Rivera-Mejia, 36, a citizen of Honduras last residing in East Hartford, was the subject of a 2019 investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Hartford Task Force.

Authorities found that Rivera-Mejia was a narcotics courier for an individual living in Mexico.

Investigators stopped Rivera-Mejia’s vehicle in September 2019 and seized approximately $6,000 in cash he was carrying in suspected narcotics proceeds. Rivera-Mejia was released after the traffic stop.

Rivera-Mejia was arrested Oct. 24, 2020, after he arrived at a parking lot in Manchester in possession of a kilogram of fentanyl that he intended to deliver to another individual.

Rivera-Mejia has been detained since his arrest.

He pleaded guilty in June to one count of possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl.

Rivera-Mejia, who entered the U.S. illegally in 2007, faces immigration proceedings when he completes his prison term.