An East Hartford man will spend the next 15 years in federal prison following his conviction for operating a drug mill in Manchester. Luis Ciuro, 37, received the 180-month sentence earlier this week in U.S. District Court in Bridgeport.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, Manchester Police arrested Ciuro in 2019 following surveillance conducted on an apartment building on John Olds Drive. Police were called to the building for reports of a woman yelling and brandishing a gun. Previous reports had indicated that someone was operating a fentanyl mill in an apartment of the building.
Ciuro was arrested when officers spotted him placing a black bag into the trunk of a vehicle, getting in with another person, and driving off. They arrested him during a traffic stop where a search of the bag turned up two shoeboxes, one filled with $70,000 in cash and the other containing two loaded handguns that had been stolen.
Ciuro reportedly admitted to officers that he was using an apartment in the building to process narcotics. A search of the apartment turned up approximately “687 grams of fentanyl, .69 grams of PCP, four grams of psilocybin mushrooms, and various drug-packaging materials.”
He pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute on November 20, 2020. According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, his sentence was enhanced due to previous federal convictions.
