Dominican National Sentenced to 4 Years in Federal Prison for Role in Hartford-Area Drug Trafficking Ring

David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that ONIEL ACOSTA-REYES, 27, a citizen of the Dominican Republic residing in Hartford, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to 48 months of imprisonment and two years of supervised release for a fentanyl trafficking offense.

According to court documents and statements made in court, an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration's Hartford Task Force revealed that members of a Hartford-area drug trafficking ring were using an apartment on Franklin Avenue in Hartford as a stash location for narcotics. On August 25, 2025, investigators stopped Acosta-Reyes and an associate as they exited the apartment carrying a large cooler. On August 25, 2025, investigators stopped Acosta-Reyes and an associate after they exited the apartment and placed a large cooler in their car. When investigators searched the cooler, they found a kilogram brick of fentanyl, bags of powder fentanyl, cutting agent, and parts for a mechanical press. A subsequent search of the apartment revealed additional drug trafficking paraphernalia, a kilogram drug press, and two firearms.

Acosta-Reyes has been detained since his arrest on August 25, 2025. On March 24, 2026, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl.

This investigation is being conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration's Hartford Task Force, which includes personnel from the DEA Hartford Resident Office, the Connecticut State Police, and the Bristol, Hartford, East Hartford, Enfield, Manchester, New Britain, Rocky Hill, Wethersfield, and Windsor Locks Police Departments. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert S. Dearington.

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.