District of Connecticut | Waterbury Drug dealer sentenced to more than 11 years in federal prison

Vanessa Roberts Avery, U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that JOSE DUPREY, aka “Red” and “Colorado,” 53, of Waterbury, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford to 141 months in prison, followed by eight years of supervised release, for trafficking kilograms of cocaine, fentanyl and heroin, and for violating the terms of his supervised release from a prior federal drug trafficking conviction.

According to court documents and statements made in court, this case stemmed from an investigation led by the DEA New Haven Task Force and the Waterbury Police Department into drug trafficking in and around the city of Waterbury. The investigation, which included court-authorized wiretaps on multiple phones, physical surveillance, controlled narcotics purchases, and motor vehicle stops that resulted in the seizure of drugs and cash proceeds, revealed that Duprey was trafficking kilograms of cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl. Duprey used his workplace to deliver narcotics to other drug distributors and used his girlfriend’s business, located on Straits Turnpike in Middlebury, to store narcotics and other items.

Duprey and 13 other individuals identified during this investigation were arrested on May 25, 2022. On that date, a search of Duprey’s Waterbury residence and the location of his stash in Middlebury turned up approximately 10 kilograms of cocaine, two kilograms of heroin, two kilograms of fentanyl, and more than $107,000 in cash.

Duprey has been in custody since his arrest. On February 10, 2023, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute narcotics and possession with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin.

Duprey’s criminal history, which spans more than 30 years, includes a 2008 federal conviction for heroin trafficking. As a career criminal, he was sentenced to 161 months in prison for that offense and was under federal supervision at the time of his criminal conduct in 2022.

This investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration New Haven Task Force and the Waterbury Police Department, with assistance from DEA offices in Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; U.S. Marshals Service; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Connecticut State Police; Connecticut Department of Correction; Connecticut State Parole; and the Naugatuck, Ansonia, West Haven, Meriden, and East Haven police departments.

District Attorney Avery thanked the Waterbury District Attorney’s Office for its cooperation in the investigation and prosecution of this case.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brendan J. Keefe and Nathaniel J. Gentile through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) program. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations through a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. Additional information about the OCDETF program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.