A Glastonbury man has been sentenced to nine years in federal prison for drug trafficking offenses involving bath salts and other controlled substances. Harrison Elba, 35, received a sentence of 108 months in prison, seven years of supervised release, and a $5,000 fine from U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport.
According to court documents and statements made during the proceedings, Elba had previously been sentenced to five years of probation in October 2019 for his involvement in a narcotics distribution conspiracy. In June 2023, Judge Underhill granted Elba’s request for early termination of probation after Elba claimed his rehabilitation was “complete.”
However, an investigation later that year found that Elba possessed with intent to distribute dimethylpentylone—commonly known as “bath salts”—at the John Fitch Distilling Company in South Windsor, which he operated. On May 2, 2023, authorities seized about 10 kilograms of the substance from the business. Elba was arrested on September 14, 2023, and detained until October 9, 2024, when he was released on bond.
Elba pleaded guilty on January 10, 2025, to possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and admitted additional criminal conduct. This included operating a drug manufacturing facility in Bloomfield between April and June 2023 where psilocybin mushrooms and THC products were produced and distributed along with large amounts of marijuana intended for sale.
He also admitted that around March 2021 he arranged to purchase 200 pounds of marijuana from two individuals in Vermont but instead orchestrated a robbery where his associates forcibly took the drugs. In November 2022, Elba received and distributed ten kilograms of cocaine. He further acknowledged picking up six guns belonging to an associate in 2023 and delivering them for storage by another person.
In December 2024, Elba arranged for a book laced with synthetic cannabinoids to be mailed to an inmate at the Wyatt Detention Facility in Rhode Island.
While out on bond following his arrest in September 2023, investigators allege that Elba participated in a scheme using drones to smuggle drugs, cell phones, and other contraband into FCI Ray Brook—a federal correctional institution in New York. Shortly after pleading guilty on January 10, 2025, Elba communicated with an inmate at FCI Ray Brook: “I literally just got out of my guilty plea. I pled guilty. My guidelines were 97 to 121. My judge is like the best judge in Connecticut. He sentenced me five years ago…. I thought I might go back to jail today….” The two also discussed details regarding the drone smuggling operation.
Elba has been held in state custody since April 23, 2025 due to charges related to operating the Bloomfield drug factory.
The alleged drone smuggling activity remains under investigation by federal authorities.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration New Haven Tactical Diversion Squad with support from local police departments including South Windsor Police Department, Bloomfield Police Department, and Glastonbury Police Department. The DEA squad includes personnel from several area police departments.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Konstantin Lantsman and Katherine Boyles prosecuted the case.
