Vanessa Roberts Avery, U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut
Marc H. Silverman, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Stephen P. Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England, have announced that a federal grand jury in New Haven has indicted two men on drug trafficking charges. Terrance Johnson, 39, from Hackensack, New Jersey, and Jordan Jamison, 29, from Waterbury, Connecticut and Paramus, New Jersey, face charges related to fentanyl and cocaine trafficking.
According to court documents, an investigation by the DEA New Haven District Office Task Force employed wiretaps and surveillance to uncover Johnson's and Jamison's operations. The two allegedly trafficked drugs into Waterbury using locations in Naugatuck and Waterbury for storage and distribution through street-level sellers.
On February 5th this year, it is alleged that Johnson and Jamison traveled together to California where they attempted to send a package containing one kilogram of fentanyl and three kilograms of cocaine back to Connecticut. Authorities intercepted this package.
A subsequent search on February 11th at their suspected stash location in Naugatuck revealed approximately 5.4 kilograms of fentanyl along with 1.4 kilograms of cocaine prepared for street sale. Investigators also found over 300 grams of xylazine used as a fentanyl additive.
Johnson was apprehended in California on February 12th while Jamison was detained in New Jersey on February 13th; both remain in custody since their arrests.
The indictment returned on February 25th charges them with conspiracy involving large quantities of fentanyl and cocaine—a crime carrying severe penalties including a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years imprisonment up to life imprisonment.
Jamison appeared recently before a federal court in New Haven entering a not guilty plea; however no arraignment date has been set yet for Johnson.
Silverman emphasized: "an indictment is only a charge" without constituting evidence against defendants who are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt.
This investigation involved cooperation among various law enforcement agencies including DEA offices across multiple states as well as local police departments within Connecticut alongside other supporting organizations like U.S Marshals Service or Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division among others participating through Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Program which aims at dismantling criminal enterprises through coordinated efforts leveraging strengths across different levels within law enforcement sectors nationwide."