4/22/26 – David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that ROMAN SANTIAGO JR., 42, of Danbury, pleaded guilty yesterday before U.S. District Judge Sarala V. Nagala in Hartford to a cocaine trafficking offense.
According to court documents and statements made in court, from September 2024 to February 2025, Santiago engaged in a narcotics trafficking conspiracy that involved the shipment of cocaine from Puerto Rico to Connecticut through the U.S. Mail. During the investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service intercepted multiple packages that were mailed from Puerto Rico to various addresses in Connecticut. Each package was intended for Santiago and contained approximately two kilograms of cocaine.
Santiago was arrested on February 12, 2025. At time of his arrest, a search of residence revealed a package of cocaine that had been mailed from Puerto Rico, and additional quantities of cocaine and fentanyl.
In total, investigators seized more than 11 kilograms of cocaine during the investigation.
Santiago pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, an offense that carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a maximum term of imprisonment of life. He is released on a $50,000 bond pending sentencing, which is scheduled for July 23.
This matter has been investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Narcotics and Bulk Cash Trafficking Task Force, which includes members from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Postal Service – Office of the Inspector General, the Connecticut State Police, the Hartford Police Department, and the Plainville Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nathan Guevremont and Christopher Lembo.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
