Hamden Man Among 11 Charged In Fair Haven Drug Trafficking Case: Feds

NEW HAVEN, CT — Ten New Haven residents, and one person from Hamden, are now facing federal drug trafficking charges, according to the Justice Department.

U.S. Attorney for CT, Vanessa Roberts Avery, Robert Fuller, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and New Haven Police Chief Karl Jacobson announced that the following were charged stemming from the "illegal distribution of narcotics in and around the Fair Haven neighborhood of New Haven."

MARIANO IRIZARRY, a.k.a. “Pop” and “Papo,” 39, of New Haven

LUIS SANCHEZ-VAZQUEZ, 35, of New Haven

DIANNA ZEILIK, 53, of New Haven

LUIS GARCIA, 34, of New Haven

KELVIN ALVARADO, a.k.a. “Kelz” and “Kel Bucks,” 23, of New Haven

RYAN BRAMWELL, a.k.a. “Corona” and “Rona,” 29, of New Haven

YHAMANDA WALLEN, 29, of New Haven

JAQUET JACOBS, a.k.a. “Fifty,” 32, of New Haven

MARCUS JACOBS, a.k.a. “Slice,” 31, most recently of New Haven

JUSTIN GALLOGLY, a.k.a. “White Pudge,” 28, of New Haven

DENZELL SUGGS, 27, of Hamden

Alvarado, Wallen, Jaquet Jacobs, Marcus Jacobs, and Gallogly were arrested yesterday, and Bramwell and Suggs were arrested on March 10. Irizarry, Sanchez-Vazquez, Zeilik, and Garcia were previously arrested.

As alleged in court documents and statements made in court, Avery noted, in June 2022, the FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force initiated an investigation into a drug trafficking organization headed by Irizarry that was operating in the Fair Haven neighborhood of New Haven.

The investigation included the use of court-authorized wiretaps, physical surveillance, and several controlled purchases of fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, and crack cocaine, Avery said. Irizarry distributed narcotics to a network of street-level dealers, as well as to his own customers, federal prosecutors claim. The investigation also revealed that Zeilik and Garcia were acquiring and distributing prescription narcotic pills, some of which they distributed to Irizarry, the US Attorney said.

During the course of the investigation, investigators seized more than 250 grams of fentanyl from Alvarado, more than 400 grams of fentanyl and 160 grams of heroin from Sanchez-Vazquez, more than 1,000 oxycodone pills from Zeilik, and seven firearms, according to federal authorities.

Avery "stressed" that charges are not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This investigation is being conducted by FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force, which includes members from the FBI, the Connecticut State Police, the Connecticut Department of Correction, and the New Haven, Milford, East Haven, West Haven, and Wallingford police departments.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brendan J. Keefe through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces 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.

Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.