West Haven Man Sentenced to 8 Years in Prison for Role in Counterfeit Pill Manufacturing and Distribution Operation

David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that SHAWN STEPHENS, 35, of West Haven, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford to 97 months of imprisonment and three years of supervised release for his participation in the large-scale manufacture and trafficking of counterfeit pills containing synthetic opioids and other substances.

According to court documents and statements made in court, this matter stems from an investigation led by the DEA New Haven's Tactical Diversion Squad and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service targeting the manufacture and distribution of counterfeit oxycodone, Xanax, and Adderall tablets containing methamphetamine, protonitazene, dimethylpentylone, xylazine, and other substances. Protonitazene is a Schedule I synthetic opioid that is three times more potent than fentanyl.

In June 2023, law enforcement received information that Stephens' co-conspirator, Kelldon Hinton, was using a pill press to manufacture large quantities of counterfeit pills containing controlled substances. Through the use of physical and electronic surveillance, the seizure and searches of parcels sent through the U.S. Mail and commercial delivery services, undercover purchases of counterfeit pills, trash pulls, and other investigative methods, investigators determined that Hinton, with the assistance of Stephens and others, was purchasing protonitazene, dimethypentalone, xylazine, other substances, and pill press parts from China and elsewhere, using tableting machines ("pill presses") to manufacture counterfeit pills in a garage he rented in East Haven, marketing and selling the pills on the dark web, and mailing pills to customers around the U.S. In text messages, Hinton referred to the rented garage as his "lab." Between February 2023 and February 2024, Hinton shipped more than 1,300 packages through the U.S. Mail. Hinton also distributed the counterfeit pills to associates in Connecticut, who sold them to their own customers.

Hinton, Stephens, and other co-conspirators were arrested on September 5, 2024. On that date, investigators conducted court-authorized searches of several locations, including the garage located on Tyler Street Extension in East Haven, which yielded approximately one million narcotic pills weighing nearly 100 kilograms, approximately 300 grams of cocaine, two large pill presses, pill manufacturing equipment, drug ledgers, and other items. One of the pill presses seized was capable of producing 100,000 pills per hour.

The investigation subsequently revealed that Hinton rented a unit at a storage facility in West Haven. On September 18, 2024, a court-authorized search of the storage unit revealed hundreds of thousands of additional narcotic pills weighing nearly 100 kilograms.

Stephens helped Hinton maintain both his garage lab and storage facility, and he mailed customer orders for Hinton.

On October 21, 2025, Stephens pleaded guilty to conspiracy to manufacture, distribute and to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances. Stephens, who is released on a $100,000 bond, is required to report to prison on July 30.

Hinton pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing.

This investigation has been conducted by the DEA New Haven's Tactical Diversion Squad and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, with the assistance of the DEA Chicago Cyber Task Force, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the East Haven Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lauren C. Clark and Konstantin Lantsman.