A New Britain resident, Luis Torres Ortiz, 25, has been sentenced to five years in federal prison and four years of supervised release for his involvement in a cocaine trafficking conspiracy. The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport.
According to information presented in court, the investigation was led by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Narcotics and Bulk Cash Trafficking Task Force. Authorities identified Joseph Giovanni Soto as the leader of a group that shipped parcels containing kilogram quantities of cocaine from Puerto Rico to various addresses in Connecticut and Massachusetts. These shipments were sent to "drop addresses" in New Britain and Meriden, Connecticut, as well as Holyoke and West Springfield, Massachusetts.
The organization relied on individuals referred to as "runners" who picked up the parcels from these drop addresses and delivered them to Soto’s residence in Bloomfield or his uncle Ramon Soto’s home in New Britain. At Joseph Soto’s direction, Ramon Soto then transported the cocaine to recipients in the Bronx, New York, and other locations in exchange for payment.
During their investigation, law enforcement intercepted 10 suspicious parcels—each containing about two kilograms of cocaine—and identified approximately 280 additional parcels suspected of carrying similar amounts that had already been delivered.
Joseph Giovanni Soto was arrested on May 1, 2023. In August 2023, investigators observed new suspicious packages arriving from Puerto Rico addressed to areas connected with Jatniel Morales Gonzalez in Waterbury. They determined that Morales Gonzalez had worked with Soto before his arrest and took over operations after Soto was detained. Investigators tracked several new drop addresses and saw Morales Gonzalez, Torres Ortiz, and others collecting parcels and delivering them to Morales Gonzalez's residence before further transport to the Bronx.
More than 90 additional suspicious parcels were found during this period; 24 were sent directly to Torres Ortiz’s address in New Britain. Court-authorized searches of four seized packages revealed each contained about two kilograms of cocaine.
Torres Ortiz was arrested on December 19, 2024. He pleaded guilty on September 19, 2025, to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute at least 500 grams of cocaine. He is currently released on a $50,000 bond and must report to prison on April 21.
Others involved—including Joseph Giovanni Soto, Ramon Soto, and Morales Gonzales—have also pleaded guilty and received sentences ranging from ten to fourteen years in prison.
The case was investigated by members of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; the U.S. Postal Service – Office of Inspector General; Connecticut State Police; Hartford Police Department; Plainville Police Department; and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephanie Levick and Konstantin Lantsman.
"David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that LUIS TORRES ORTIZ, 25, of New Britain, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to 60 months of imprisonment and four years of supervised release for his role in a cocaine trafficking conspiracy."
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