California Man Arrested; Dea Task Force Seizes Six Kilograms Of Heroin, More Than $300k

Deirdre M. Daly, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and John J. Arvanitis, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration in New England, today announced that LUIS CEDILLO, 31, recently of Sylmar, Calif., has been arrested on a federal criminal complaint charging him with trafficking heroin.

CEDILLO was arrested last night in Wolcott.  He appeared today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Donna F. Martinez in Hartford and was ordered detained.

According to court documents and statements made in court, members of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Haven Task Force initiated surveillance of CEDILLO as part of an ongoing investigation.  On November 14, 2013, agents followed a white Cadillac Escalade that CEDILLO was driving to a store where it is alleged that CEDILLO purchased items used in the processing and packaging of illegal drugs.  After the Escalade traveled to a garage in Wolcott, agents approached CEDILLO, secured him in handcuffs and received consent from the owner of the property to search the garage.

As alleged in the complaint, agents observed that the vehicle, which was raised on a lift, had sheet-rock screws coming through the metal of the bottom of the car.  After a canine alert, agents located and opened a trap in the rear of the vehicle and retrieved approximately six kilograms of heroin.  CEDILLO was placed under arrest at the time.

A subsequent search of a residence in Danbury connected to CEDILLO revealed between $300,000 and $400,000 in cash.

The complaint charges CEDILLO with possessing with the intent to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin.

This matter is being investigated by the DEA New Haven Task Force, which includes participants from the New Haven, Hamden, West Haven, North Haven, East Haven, Branford, Ansonia and Meriden Police Departments, and the U.S. Marshals Service.  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dave Vatti and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Natasha Dye.

Acting U.S. Attorney Daly stressed that a complaint is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt.  Charges are only allegations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACT:

U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722
thomas.carson@usdoj.gov