HARTFORD – The U.S. Attorney’s Office, along with law enforcement agencies around the state, is announcing a new initiative to target heroin and opioid distributors that cause overdose deaths.
United States Attorney Deirdre M. Daly, Deputy Chief State’s Attorney Leonard C. Boyle and Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Ferguson of the Drug Enforcement Administration held a press conference Wednesday to discuss the initiative. It targets narcotics dealers who distribute heroin, fentanyl or opioids that cause death or serious injury to users.
“Connecticut, just like many other states in this nation, is suffering from this terrible epidemic. These tragic deaths have occurred in every corner of our state from the smallest towns to the largest cities. No one has been spared,” said U.S. Attorney Daly.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the DEA have developed protocol for police officers that respond to overdose deaths. It calls for local police to investigate them as crime scenes, including using time-sensitive investigative techniques and preserving all evidence at the scene of an overdose death.
The DEA and local police will then jointly investigate the events leading up to the death and where the drugs came from. They will also be looking for information as to whether the distributor knew the drug could cause serious injury or death.
“If it can be established that a person who’s distributing narcotics knows that the particular brand or type that he/she is distributing is causing serious injury and perhaps death, then the potential charges against that person go far behind simple narcotics distribution up to and including manslaughter,” explained Deputy Chief State’s Attorney Boyle.
Currently, there are ongoing investigations of overdoses that occurred in Danbury, Derby, Enfield, Greenwich, Middletown, Newtown, New Haven, Norwalk, Norwich, Shelton, Stamford, Vernon, Weston, Willimantic and Woodbridge.
Daly stressed this initiative is in addition to tracking down and prosecuting high volume, large scale trafficking organizations and medical professionals who prescribe narcotics outside the scope of accepted medical practice.