Norwich Drug Dealer Sentenced In Federal Case: U.S. Attorney

NORWICH, CT — A 35-year-old Massachusetts man, who was accused of dealing a mixture of heroin and fentanyl called "china white" in Norwich, was sentenced to 30 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for trafficking fentanyl. United States Attorney John H. Durham announced the sentence on Thursday.

Elias Escarraman, formerly of Springfield and Worcester, Mass., traveled from Massachusetts to the Norwich area approximately twice a week to distribute the drug, and in April and May, 2017, investigators made multiple controlled purchases of "china white" from Escarraman, according to prosecutors and court documents. In one purchase in early May alone, investigators purchased 1,000 bags of the drug for $2,500, and then arranged to purchase of 2,000 bags of "china white" from Escarraman for $5,000.

Authorities arrested Escarraman in mid-May after he arrived at the meeting location in Norwich "in possession of approximately 2,000 bags of the drug." Lab analysis determined that Escarraman possessed and distributed more than 66 grams of fentanyl during the investigation.

Escarraman has been detained since his arrest, and in November he pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.

As part of the sentence, Judge Bryant ordered Escarraman to forfeit a 2008 Mercedes-Benz ML350 that Escarraman drove to the meet location on May 15 and was seized at the time of his arrest.

This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Norwich Police Department and the Springfield Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dave Vatti.

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