Former Norwalk Resident Pleads Guilty To Drug Trafficking: Feds

NORWALK, CT — A citizen of Mexico last residing in Norwalk pleaded guilty Wednesday to narcotics trafficking and immigration offenses, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut John H. Durham announced in a press release.

According to court documents, Rafael Lopez-Macias, 46, was convicted of a cocaine trafficking offense in California state court in June 1998 and was deported to Mexico in February 2001.

Durham said the accused illegally reentered the U.S. and was arrested in Connecticut for a forgery offense in March 2009. He was again deported to Mexico in November 2009, Durham said.

"Lopez-Macias again illegally reentered the U.S. and, between March and June 2018, he was intercepted on a court-authorized wiretap discussing the distribution of cocaine and methamphetamine," Durham said in a release. "On June 11, 2018, in New Rochelle, N.Y., Lopez-Macias and a co-conspirator sold a kilogram of cocaine and a sample of methamphetamine for $31,500 to an individual working with law enforcement."

According to Durham, the accused traveled from Norwalk to New Rochelle on June 26, picked up a kilogram of methamphetamine from his co-conspirator and began driving back to Norwalk with the narcotics. While en route to Norwalk, the accused was stopped by law enforcement and arrested for an immigration violation, Durham said.

"Officers searched the vehicle and seized the kilogram of methamphetamine," Durham said. "Lopez-Macias has been detained since his arrest."

Durham said the accused pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of, 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, an offense that carries a mandatory minimum prison term of 10 years and a maximum prison term of life, and one count of reentry of removed alien, an offense that carries a maximum prison term of 20 years.

A sentencing date has not been scheduled.