Hundreds of thousands of pills seized in Connecticut's largest ever counterfeit drug raid

On Monday, US authorities announced that the largest counterfeit drug raid in history had taken place in Connecticut. Seven suspects are accused of operating a factory that could produce 110,000 pills per hour.

Prosecutors accuse the ring of being so brazen that it sent over a thousand shipments of fentanyl and other deadly narcotics through the U.S. mail.

“FENTANYL FACTORY”

When federal agents searched a garage in East Haven on September 5, they said they found a massive pill factory inside.

“I spoke to the landlord and he said there appeared to be a fentanyl factory behind it,” Randy Weidner, the owner of a neighboring business, told NBC Connecticut as agents hauled out bags of evidence.

On Monday, prosecutors announced they had found a “huge quantity” of pills and paraphernalia.

“We can safely say this is the largest seizure of counterfeit pills weighing several hundred pounds that we have ever had here in Connecticut,” said Vanessa Avery, the U.S. Attorney for Connecticut. “They seized several hundred thousand pills, two large pill presses and pill-making equipment.”

The Drug Enforcement Agency estimates that up to two million counterfeit pills may have been produced in the operation.

Brazen operation

An arrest warrant points to a huge drug den that operates openly.

Prosecutors allege that 45-year-old Kelldon Hinton mailed more than 1,300 shipments of deadly narcotics from his local post office. According to court documents, Hinton produced the counterfeit pills in what he called his “lab” – and then sold the products on the “dark web,” using cryptocurrency to obscure the transactions.

Customers thought they were receiving prescription drugs such as Xanax, Adderol, Oxycodone and Percocet, but tests confirmed that Hinton was sending them counterfeits containing fentanyl, meth, cocaine and even more deadly narcotics.

“This operation destroyed a major source of illegal pills destined for our neighborhood,” said Ketty Larco-Ward of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

According to the arrest warrant, the fentanyl and other drugs came from China. Prosecutors claim the shipments went to several of Hinton's accomplices.

In addition, the following will be calculated:

The investigation began in June 2023 when a confidential informant tipped off the DEA. Hinton's father is a retired police officer, federal court records show.

DEADLY OFFERS

This massive drug den may have also claimed human lives. Investigators said an overdose death appears to be connected to it.

“The only safe medications – and this is a message to all the parents out there – are the ones you get from your doctor,” said David Lanzoni, DEA assistant special agent in charge for New England.

According to investigators, many of the drugs remained here in Connecticut and were sold on the street.

“The pills were produced here in Connecticut,” Lanzoni said. “That's a much scarier thought to me than the fact that the pills are coming across the border.”

Hinton and two of his accomplices are still in custody. Four defendants have already been released. They face at least ten years and up to life imprisonment.