Danbury Man Charged with Trafficking Cocaine Through the Mail from Puerto Rico

Marc H. Silverman, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division, today announced that a federal grand jury in Hartford returned an indictment yesterday charging ROMAN SANTIAGO JR., 41, of Danbury, with cocaine trafficking offenses.

As alleged in court documents and statements made in court, from September 2024 to February 2025, Santiago engaged in a narcotics trafficking conspiracy that involved the shipment of cocaine from Puerto Rico to Connecticut through the U.S. Mail. During the investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service intercepted multiple packages containing a total of more than 11 kilograms of cocaine that were mailed from Puerto Rico to various addresses in Connecticut. Each package was intended for Santiago and contained approximately two kilograms of cocaine.

The indictment charges Santiago with conspiring to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, and possession with the intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and 40 grams or more of fentanyl. Each offense carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a maximum term of imprisonment of life.

Santiago was arrested on a federal criminal complaint on February 12, 2025. He is currently released on a $50,000 bond.

Acting U.S. Attorney Silverman stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This matter is being investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Narcotics and Bulk Cash Trafficking Task Force, with the assistance of the Plainville and Danbury Police Departments. The task force includes members from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Postal Service - Office of the Inspector General, and the Hartford, Plainville, and Meriden Police Departments. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nathan Guevremont and Christopher Lembo.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department's Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).