Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Vanessa Roberts Avery, U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that Alexander Lee, 22, of Windsor, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in Bridgeport to 60 months of imprisonment, followed by four years of supervised release, for trafficking counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl.

According to court documents and statements made in court, a DEA New Haven Tactical Diversion Squad investigation, which included court-authorized wiretaps, controlled purchases of narcotics and the seizure of drugs that had been shipped through the U.S. mail, revealed that Lee and others received thousands of counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl and other controlled substances from a source of supply on the west coast of the U.S., and then distributed the drugs to various street-level distributors and numerous drug customers in Connecticut.

In February 2022, Lee traveled to California and shipped a package back to his Windsor residence. The package, which was intercepted and searched pursuant to a federal search warrant, contained approximately 18,000 fentanyl pills disguised as oxycodone. In May 2022, Lee again traveled to California and shipped a package to an associate in Bloomfield. A search of the package revealed 1,800 tablets of Alprazolam (Xanax) that appeared to be manufactured in Mexico.

During the investigation, investigators also seized approximately 25 pounds of marijuana, seven firearms and thousands of dollars in cash.

Lee was arrested on June 29, 2022. On May 22, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl.

Lee, who is released on a $100,000 bond, is required to report to prison on Oct. 10.

This matter has been investigated by the DEA New Haven Tactical Diversion Squad, with the assistance of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Connecticut State Police; East Central Narcotics Task Force; and the Windsor and Enfield Police Departments. The DEA Tactical Diversion Squad is composed of personnel from the DEA and the officers from the Bristol, East Windsor, Hamden, New Britain, West Haven, Newington, Manchester, Glastonbury, and Watertown Police Departments.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lauren C. Clark and Stephanie T. Levick through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Program. OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs and transnational criminal organizations through a prosecutor-led and intelligence-driven approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.

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