Jury finds 2 Connecticut drug traffickers guilty; $100K in jewelry and $146K Mercedes seized
Two Connecticut men were found guilty of drug trafficking offenses, according to federal authorities,
Tajh Wiley, also known as “Yung,” 26, of Norwalk, and Jevaughn Watson, 28, of Ansonia, were on trial before U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton and the jury returned the guilty verdicts Monday, according to federal authorities.
The case arose from an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Bridgeport High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force into “a drug trafficking organization headed by Wiley,” according to federal authorities. “The investigation, which included a court-authorized wiretap of Wiley’s phone, revealed that Wiley conspired to distribute quantities of fentanyl, cocaine and marijuana and distributed drugs throughout Connecticut and elsewhere with the assistance of other associates.”
When Wiley, Watson, and six other suspects were arrested in June 2021, investigators executed multiple search warrants and seized about a kilogram of fentanyl, a kilogram of cocaine, about 83 grams of crack cocaine, more than 12 pounds of marijuana, two press machines and “other items and materials used by Wiley and his co-conspirators to process and package illegal drugs,” according to federal authorities. Investigators also seized jewelry valued at more than $100,000, and a 2021 Mercedes-Benz valued at approximately $146,000 from Wiley, authorities said.
The jury found Wiley guilty of one count of conspiracy to distribute, and to possess with intent to distribute, fentanyl, 500 grams or more of cocaine and marijuana, and one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine base.
He faces a mandatory minimum term 5 years in prison and a maximum 40 years. Watson was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to distribute, and to possess with intent to distribute marijuana, an offense that carries a maximum term of 5 years in prison.
Arterton scheduled sentencing for Oct. 12, 2022.
