Stamford Man Sentenced To Federal Prison For Drug Trafficking In Southwestern CT: Feds

STAMFORD, CT — A Stamford man was sentenced this week to a little over nine years in federal prison for trafficking drugs in southwestern Connecticut, according to an announcement from David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut.

Rodney Canada, 48, received a 110-month sentence followed by four years of supervised release from U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford.

According to court documents and statements made in court, the Drug Enforcement Administration's Bridgeport High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force and Stamford Police Department identified Canada as the leader of a drug trafficking organization that was distributing large quantities of fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, and crack cocaine in Stamford and elsewhere in southwestern Connecticut, Sullivan said in a news release.

An investigation in 2024, which included court-authorized wiretaps and controlled purchases of drugs, revealed that Canada and others orchestrated the street level distribution of narcotics through other members of the conspiracy, Sullivan said.

Investigators intercepted more than 5,000 text messages and calls in which Canada coordinated his drug trafficking activities, Sullivan noted.

Canada and several associates were arrested on May 14, 2024. On that date, investigators conducted court-authorized searches at locations in Stamford, Norwalk, Bridgeport, and Darien, and seized approximately three kilograms of cocaine, nearly 400 grams of raw fentanyl, more than 500 bags of fentanyl, five firearms, a bulletproof vest, and seven vehicles, according to Sullivan.

Canada has been detained since his arrest. On Feb. 28, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl, cocaine, and heroin.

Sullivan said Canada's criminal history spans more than 30 years and includes numerous convictions, including two prior federal drug trafficking convictions, in 2001 and 2013, for which he served a total of approximately 14 years in federal prison.