Man Seen Hiding Drugs In Tree, Arrested Again Days Before Prison Sentence Was To Begin: Stamford Police

STAMFORD, CT — A 54-year-old Stamford man who was scheduled to begin serving a federal prison sentence this week was arrested on Oct. 11 after police conducted a drug investigation, Assistant Stamford Police Chief Richard Conklin told Patch Wednesday.

Danny Turkvan, whose nickname is "Smooth," was sentenced in August to 46 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for trafficking drugs in southwestern Connecticut, David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, previously announced.

Turkvan was released on a $150,000 bond and was scheduled to report to prison on Oct. 16.

"While he was out on bond, we did this additional case on him here in Stamford, and he continued to sell narcotics," Conklin said. "We don't know at this point how that will affect his sentencing."

On Oct. 11, the Stamford Police Department's Narcotics and Organized Crime Squad investigated Turkvan and secured a search warrant for his person and his Spruce Street residence on Stamford's West Side, Conklin said.

In the late afternoon, officers set up surveillance on Turkvan's home and observed him exiting the residence and hiding a bag in a tree, Conklin said. Officers moved in and arrested Turkvan, and recovered from him $728 in cash.

The bag hidden in the tree contained a knotted bag full of 53 additional bags of crack cocaine, weighing a total of 12.7 grams, Conklin said.

Turkvan was charged with possession of narcotics, possession of narcotics with intent to sell, and operating a drug factory. He was given a bond of $250,000, and a court date of Oct. 27, according to Conklin.

Prosecutors previously said Turkvan was part of a drug trafficking organization that was distributing large quantities of fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, and crack cocaine in Stamford and elsewhere in southwestern Connecticut.

Turkvan and other members of the conspiracy were arrested federally on May 14, 2024.

On that date, according to prosecutors, investigators conducted court-authorized searches at locations in Stamford, Norwalk, Bridgeport, and Darien, and seized approximately 3 kilograms of cocaine, nearly 400 grams of raw fentanyl, more than 500 bags of fentanyl, five firearms, a bulletproof vest, and seven vehicles.

On April 11 of this year, Turkvan pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute cocaine. He was sentenced in Hartford by U.S. District Court Judge Michael P. Shea on Aug. 13.