Defendant In Manchester Federal 'Fentanyl Mill' Case Gets 15 Years

MANCHESTER, CT — An East Hartford man has been given a 15-year sentence in a federal fentanyl case out of Manchester.

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States attorney for the District of Connecticut, said that Luis Ciuro, 37, of East Hartford, was sentenced Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport to 180 months in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release, for trafficking narcotics.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on Oct. 15, 2019, Manchester Police received a call reporting that a woman was yelling and displaying a gun outside of an apartment building on John Olds Drive. Law enforcement officials had previously received information that an individual was operating a "fentanyl mill" in an apartment within the same building, case records show.

Responding officers conducted a surveillance operation and saw Ciuro exit the building and place a black bag into the trunk of a car, according to case records.

After Ciuro and another person entered the car and it drove away, officers conducted a traffic stop and retrieved the bag that Ciuro had carried from the building, according to case records. The bag contained one shoebox with approximately $70,000 in cash inside, and a second shoebox that contained two loaded handguns, both of which had been reported stolen, Avery said.

After Ciuro admitted to law enforcement that used an apartment on John Olds Drive to store and process narcotics, a search of the apartment led to the discovery of approximately 687 grams of fentanyl, .69 grams of PCP, 4 grams of psilocybin mushrooms, and various drug-packaging materials, federal authorities said.

On Nov. 20, 2020, Ciuro pleaded guilty today to one count of possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl.

Avery said the penalties in this case were "enhanced," based on Ciuro’s criminal history, which includes a prior federal conviction for conspiring to distribute crack cocaine. On Jan. 4, 2008, Ciuro was sentenced in New Haven federal court to 84 months of imprisonment for that offense, Avery said.