Stamford Man Sentenced To Over 6 Years For Trafficking Heroin

STAMFORD, CT — Joaquin Veras, 47, of Stamford, was sentenced on Tuesday to six-and-a-half years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for trafficking heroin, according to a news release from Leonard C. Boyle, the Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut.

Veras was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in March and May of 2019 undercover investigators made two controlled purchases of approximately 100 grams of heroin each from Veras. Investigators then arranged to purchase a kilogram of heroin from Veras for $58,000.

Veras was arrested on May 26, 2019. He was in possession of approximately one kilogram of heroin. A search of a Stamford apartment that Veras used as a stash location revealed another kilogram of heroin, a quantity of cocaine, items used to process and package narcotics for sale, and $7,000 in cash, the news release said.

Veras has been in custody since his arrest, and he pleaded guilty on Sept. 28, 2020.

In August of 2011, Veras was sentenced in the Eastern District of New York to 57 months of imprisonment for conspiring to distribute heroin.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration's Bridgeport High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force, and the Stamford Police Department.

The Task Force included personnel from the DEA, Connecticut State Police and Nortwalk, Stamford, Stratford, Milford, Bridgeport and Trumbull Police Departments. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Vizcarrondo.