An East Hartford man was sentenced to 15 years in prison Wednesday for trafficking narcotics, according to federal prosecutors.
Luis Ciurio, 37, also was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport 10 years of supervised release.
Federal prosecutors, citing to court documents and statements made in court, said Manchester police went to an apartment building on John Olds Drive in Manchester on Oct. 15, 2019 after receiving a call that a woman was yelling and displaying a gun outside it, and that authorities already had information that an individual was operating a fentanyl mill in the same building.
Responding officers saw Ciuro leave the building and put a bag into the trunk of a car, and after Ciuro and another person drove away, officers stopped the car, federal prosecutors said in a statement. An officer opened the trunk and found the bag Ciuro put there; it contained about $70,000 in cash, and two loaded handguns, both of which were reported stolen. the statement said.
“After Ciuro admitted to law enforcement that (he) used an apartment on John Olds Drive to store and process narcotics, a search of the apartment revealed approximately 687 grams of fentanyl, .69 grams of PCP, four grams of psilocybin mushrooms, and various drug-packaging materials,” federal prosecutors said in the statement.
Ciuro pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl.
Officials said the penalties in the case “were enhanced based on Ciuro’s criminal history,” including a prior federal conviction for conspiring to distribute crack cocaine.