Middletown police have arrested three people after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security intercepted around five kilograms of cocaine, worth more than $210,000, headed for Middletown and Waterbury, according to police.
A large commercial shipping service that does business in the United States and Puerto Rico identified two suspicious packages, including a Hewlett Packard personal computer box addressed to Lakeside Avenue in Middletown and reached out to Middletown police on Nov. 20. When authorities checked the box, they found two kilograms of cocaine, police said.
When the computer was delivered to Lakeside Avenue, Department of Homeland Security agents were there and met with a woman who lives in the home, who told them her son told her a friend was having a package delivered to the house.
Then, Yajaira Rosario, 41, of Waterbury, arrived and put the box into her trunk, police said, and agents stopped her car.
She told police that she did not know what was in the packages and , 27, of Puerto Rico, had offered $500 to have one of the packages shipped to an address other than her own, police said.
Joel Flores Valazquez, 34, of Puerto Rico, was Rosario’s passenger seat, and later told police that Serrano gave him money to accompany him to the United State, but would not say for what, police said.
The other suspicious package was a Mix and Go dual speaker with a detachable mixer box addressed to Cornelius Avenue in Waterbury, which held three kilograms of cocaine, police said.
U.S. & World
When agents arrived at the Waterbury address, Serrano told police that the packages containing the cocaine were his and Rosario had nothing to do with them.
Serrano was charged with possession with intent to sell, possession of a controlled substance,, conspiracy and attempt to commit a crime and held on $1 million bond.
Velazquez was charged with possession with intent to sell, possession of a controlled substance, and conspiracy and bond was set at $750,000.
Rosario was charged with possession with intent to sell, possession of a controlled substance and conspiracy and bond was set at $500,000.
