Mexican National Sentences For Role In Hartford Drug Operation: Feds

HARTFORD, CT — A Mexican national was sentenced to prison Tuesday for his role in a Hartford-based fentanyl distribution operation.

David X. Sullivan, U.S. Attorney for Connecticut, said Hugo Ivan Ramirez-Bellozo, 35, a citizen of Mexico, was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Hartford to five years behind bars for a fentanyl trafficking offense.

According to court documents and statements made in court, this matter stems from a DEA Hartford Task Force investigation of a Hartford-based drug trafficking organization.

That operation involved the distribution of a large amount of fentanyl and other narcotics, and the transportation and laundering of cash proceeds from their drug trafficking activity.

In January 2022, law enforcement coordinated a motor vehicle stop of a minivan and seized $92,000 from a hidden compartment, Sullivan said.

The investigation revealed Harold Luis Del Orbe, also known as “Jaro,” was directing the operators of the minivan to conduct narcotics-related transactions on his behalf, he said.

On Nov. 16, 2022, investigators executed a court-authorized search warrant at an apartment on Putnam Heights in Hartford and seized approximately 1.5 kilograms of fentanyl, items used to process and package narcotics, and a loaded .40 caliber semi-automatic handgun, authorities said.

According to Sullivan, Ramirez-Bellozo, Del Orbe, and others were present in the apartment at the time of the search.

Ramirez-Bellozo has been detained since his arrest on Nov. 16, 2022. On Nov. 21, 2024, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl.

Ramirez-Bellozo faces removal proceedings when he completes his prison term.

Del Orbe pleaded guilty to related charges and, on May 6, 2025, was sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment.

For more information on the case, click on this link.