Man Sentenced In Drug Trafficking Operation That Used ‘Drop Addresses’ In Meriden: Feds

MERIDEN, CT — A man has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison in connection with a drug trafficking operation that saw cocaine being shipped from Puerto Rico to Meriden and other areas, according to authorities.

Jatniel Morales Gonzalez, 28, of Ponce, Puerto Rico, was also sentenced this week to five years of supervised release following the prison term, U.S. Attorney for Connecticut David X. Sullivan announced.

Authorities said an investigation led by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Narcotics and Bulk Cash Trafficking Task Force identified Joseph Giovanni Soto as the leader of a cocaine trafficking operation that involved the shipment of parcels containing kilogram quantities of cocaine from U.S. Post Offices in Puerto Rico to various “drop addresses” in New Britain and Meriden, as well as addresses in Holyoke and West Springfield, Massachusetts, according to a news release.

“The organization used ‘runners’ to pick up the parcels from the drop addresses and deliver them to Soto’s residence in Bloomfield and the residence of Soto’s uncle, Ramon Soto, in New Britain,” officials wrote in the news release. “Typically, Ramon Soto, at Joseph Soto’s direction, then delivered the cocaine to individuals in the Bronx, New York, and elsewhere, in return for payment.

“During the investigation, task force members intercepted and seized 10 suspicious parcels, each of which contained approximately two kilograms of cocaine, and identified approximately 280 suspicious parcels likely containing kilogram quantities of cocaine that had been delivered to the various drop addresses.”

Joseph Giovanni Soto was arrested on May 1, 2023. In August 2023, investigators saw a “reemergence of suspicious parcels coming from Puerto Rico to the New Britain and Meriden areas, and then to a Waterbury address where Morales Gonzalez was living,” according to the news release.

“Investigators determined that Morales Gonzalez and Soto had worked together prior to Soto’s arrest, and that Morales Gonzalez had assumed control of the Connecticut side of the cocaine trafficking network after Soto’s arrest,” officials wrote. “Investigators identified several new drop addresses for suspicious parcels and observed Morales Gonzalez and others retrieving the parcels and bringing them to Morales Gonzalez’s residence before they were ultimately delivered to the Bronx.

“During this part of the investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service identified 98 additional suspicious parcels and seized and searched four of them. Each of the searched packages contained approximately two kilograms of cocaine.”

A court-authorized search of Morales Gonzalez’s residence on June 26 revealed approximately two kilograms of cocaine, a loaded handgun, and a Smith and Wesson M&P 9 Shield firearm, and two drug ledgers, according to officials.

Morales Gonzales pleaded guilty in September to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, five kilograms or more of cocaine.

He was released on a $100,000 bond and is required to report to prison on Jan. 21.

Officials said Joseph Giovanni Soto pleaded guilty to the same charge and was sentenced in May to 14 years of imprisonment. Ramon Soto pleaded guilty to a related charge and was sentenced in January to 10 years of imprisonment.

Brian Martinez Rivera, 29, of Torrington, and Luis Torres Ortiz, 24, of New Britain, have also pleaded guilty to charges related to their involvement in this conspiracy and await sentencing, according to officials.