Hartford Cocaine Dealer Gets 6.5 Years In Prison: Attorney

HARTFORD/BRIDGEPORT, CT — A 52-year-old drug dealer from Hartford will spend six and a half years in prison following his sentencing Thursday in federal court.

Vanessa Roberts Avery, U.S. attorney for Connecticut, said Luis Carrasquillo, also known as “Cuchi,” 52, of Hartford, was sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport to 78 months of imprisonment, followed by four years of supervised release, for trafficking cocaine.

According to court documents and statements made in court, this matter stems from a joint investigation led by the FBI and the Norwich, New London and Hartford police departments.

They were investigating a narcotics distribution network that stretched from southeastern Connecticut to the Hartford, New Britain and Waterbury areas, Avery said.

The investigation — which included court-authorized wiretaps, surveillance, search warrants, and seizures of cocaine and crack cocaine — revealed Carrasquillo was acquiring large quantities of cocaine and selling the drug to other distributors, some of whom converted the cocaine to crack, according to authorities.

On March 17, 2020, law enforcement conducted a court-authorized search of Carrasquillo’s Adelaide Street residence and seized approximately 3 kilograms of cocaine and $71,340 in cash, Avery said.

On June 30, 2020, a grand jury returned an indictment charging Carrasquillo and eight other individuals with offenses related to their involvement in this drug ring.

Carrasquillo was arrested on July 1, 2020.

On June 9, 2022, Carrasquillo pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine.

Carrasquillo, who is released on $270,000 bond, is required to report to prison April 6, according to authorities.

This is Carrasquillo’s second federal conviction for a cocaine trafficking-related offense.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Margaret M. Donovan through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Program.

Additional information about the OCDETF Program is at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

For the official announcement of the sentencing, click on this link.