New Britain Man Pleads Guilty to Cocaine Trafficking Charge

David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and P.J. O'Brien, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the FBI, announced that ARNALDO PEREZ-RIOS, 28, of New Britain, pleaded guilty today in Hartford federal court to a cocaine trafficking offense.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in May 2025, members of the FBI's Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force and New Britain Police Department made controlled purchases of fentanyl from Perez-Rios. Investigators also learned that Perez-Rios was using a storage unit at a storage facility on West Main Street in New Britain as part of his narcotics trafficking activity. On July 24, 2025, a court authorized search of the storage unit revealed approximately 770 grams of cocaine and items used to package narcotics.

Perez-Rios was arrested on a federal criminal complaint on August 11, 2025.

Perez-Rios pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine, which carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of five years and a maximum term of imprisonment of 40 years. He is released on a $50,000 bond pending sentencing, which is scheduled for September 1.

This investigation is being conducted by the FBI's Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force, which includes members from the Connecticut State Police, the Connecticut Department of Correction, and the East Hartford, Hartford, New Britain, West Hartford, Wethersfield, and Newington Police Departments. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Reed Durham and Natasha Freismuth.

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.