Four charged following drug trafficking investigation in Waterbury
By Evan Sobol
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WATERBURY, Connecticut (WFSB) — Four men are facing charges after the DEA led an investigation into a drug trafficking ring in Waterbury.
Officials said the investigation lasted for about nine months.
According to federal officials 22 kilos of narcotics, 200,000 bags of fentanyl, and $150,000 was seized during the investigation.
The United States Attorney’s Office District of Connecticut listed the four people who were arrested:
Gawayne Fisher, a.k.a. “Fruit” and “Tank,” 47, of Waterbury Terry Collins, 51, of Bristol David Hing, a.k.a. “LA,” 57, of Waterbury Derrick Pruden, a.k.a. “DP,” 53, of Waterbury They were each charged with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, including fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, and cocaine base (crack), according to the United States Attorney’s Office.
“The DEA Tactical Diversion Squad, the Waterbury Police Department, and other law enforcement agencies have been conducting an investigation into drug trafficking in and around the city of Waterbury by Fisher and his associates,” the office said.
During the investigation authorities used wiretaps on phones, controlled purchases of narcotics, and conducted surveillance, officials said.
“Fisher received heroin/fentanyl from Collins, and fentanyl/heroin and cocaine from other suppliers,” the United States Attorney’s Office said. “He then distributed the narcotics to other drug sellers, including Hing and Pruden.”
Fisher allegedly used an apartment on West Main Street in Waterbury to store narcotics.
Officials said Collins used a home on Yale Street as a “heroin mill” to store narcotics and prepare them for distribution.
Agents and officers with several agencies searched the West Main Street apartment on April 13.
They found “an estimated 16 kilograms of cocaine, three kilograms of fentanyl, and an estimated 125,000 individual glassine bags containing a substance that field tested positive as fentanyl,” officials said.
They also searched the home on Yale Street, where they found “drug-processing equipment, an estimated three kilograms of loose fentanyl, and an estimated 75,000 individual glassine bags containing a substance that field tested positive as fentanyl,” said officials.
About $150,000 was found at Fisher’s home on Beverly Avenue in Waterbury.
The United States Attorney’s Office said Collins was released on a $100,00 bond and Fisher, Hing and Pruden were detained.
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