Brothers Indicted On Opioid Pill Distribution Charges: Feds

NEWINGTON/NEW BRITAIN, CT — Two brothers, including one living in Newington, have been indicted on charges they sold and distributed illegal synthetic opioids.

Vanessa Roberts Avery, U.S. attorney for Connecticut, and Stephen Belleau, acting special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England, said Friday a federal grand jury in New Haven returned an indictment charging Kyle Peterson, 38, of Newington, and Erik Petersen, also known as “Peach,” 43, of New Britain, with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances.

The indictment was returned on April 15 and each defendant appeared in Hartford federal court last week and pleaded not guilty. They have been detained since April 3.

As alleged in court documents and statements made in court, in May 2023, members of the DEA New Haven Tactical Diversion Squad began investigating suspicious packages being delivered to Kyle Petersen’s Newington residence.

At the time, Petersen was on federal supervised release following a federal conviction in 2017 involving the trafficking of fentanyl and prescription pills, Avery said.

During the investigation, a court-authorized search of a package mailed to Petersen contained more than 400 grams of pills containing Protonitazene, a synthetic opioid typically more potent than fentanyl, according to federal officials.

Investigators also made controlled purchases of counterfeit Percocet pills containing fentanyl from Kyle Petersen’s brother, Erik Peterson, authorities said.

Kyle and Erik Petersen were taken into custody on federal criminal complaints on April 3.

Avery said, on that date, a search of Kyle Petersen’s residence revealed more than a kilogram of counterfeit Adderall pills containing methamphetamine, counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl, counterfeit Xanax pills, a large quantity of Protonitazene approximately 40 grams of cocaine, and $76,650 in cash.

If convicted, Kyle Petersen faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a maximum term of imprisonment of life, Avery said.

She said Erik Petersen faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years.

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