Dominican National Charged in Homeland Security Task Force Investigation Extradited to U.S.

ANGEL DELAROSA, 40, a citizen of the Dominican Republic, has been extradited to the United States to face narcotics and firearms trafficking charges.

As alleged in court documents and statements made in court, the FBI and the Homeland Security Task Force New Haven (HSTF New Haven) have been investigating a narcotics and firearms trafficking organization led by Delarosa while he resided in the Dominican Republic. Delarosa, a former resident of Waterbury, coordinated the distribution of narcotics and firearms in Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey through multiple redistributors in those locations. During the investigation, investigators made more than 30 controlled purchases from redistributors totaling more than one kilogram of fentanyl, more than 200 grams of methamphetamine, and 17 firearms. Laboratory analysis of the purchased fentanyl revealed that some of it was mixed with bromazolam, which is a relatively new synthetic benzodiazepine that was unscheduled at the time it was sold, and which is increasingly found as a component in mixtures of drugs resulting in overdoses.

It is alleged that the Delarosa made statements to sources suggesting that he had the ability to direct violence against individuals in the U.S.

On July 8, 2025, a federal grand jury in New Haven returned an indictment under seal charging Delarosa with one count of conspiracy to distribute, and to possess with intent to distribute, 400 grams or more of fentanyl and a quantity of methamphetamine, an offense that carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a maximum term of imprisonment of life, and one count of engaging in a firearms trafficking conspiracy, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 15 years.

On December 9, 2025, a federal grand jury in New Haven returned a 15-count indictment charging six of Delarosa's alleged co-conspirators with related offenses.

On January 30, 2026, Delarosa was arrested in the Dominican Republic at the request of the United States. He appeared yesterday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert M. Spector in New Haven, pleaded not guilty to the charges in the indictment, and was ordered detained pending trial.

U.S. Attorney Sullivan stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement toward identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States.

HSTF New Haven comprises agents and officers from the FBI, DEA, HSI, ATF, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, IRS Criminal Investigation, U.S. Department of Labor, and Connecticut State Police, with prosecutions led by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut.

This investigation was assisted by FBI New York, FBI Newark, FBI Tampa, FBI Orlando Resident Agency, FBI Legal Attaché (LEGAT) Office in Santo Domingo, and the New Haven, East Haven, North Haven, Milford, and Waterbury Police Departments.

The Justice Department's Office of International Affairs and Dominican authorities provided significant assistance in securing Delarosa's arrest and extradition.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan J. Guevremont.