Stamford men extradited from Albania face serious federal drug charges

STAMFORD — Two Stamford men extradited from Albania, along with another city man, were arraigned on federal charges in Bridgeport for operating a pill mill in Stamford, making counterfeit prescription pills with the lethal opioid fentanyl.

The unsealing of the three-count indictment against Vincent Decaro, 29, Arber Isaku, 29, and David Richard, 30, was announced by Stamford Police Chief Jon Fontneau, U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut John Durham, Joseph Cronin, the inspector in charge of the Boston division of the U.S. Postal Service, and Brian Doyle, special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England.

The indictments are closely connected to the Stamford police Narcotics and Organized Crime squad’s raid a year ago on Decaro’s Westover home where police seized 330 grams of fentanyl and 40 grams of Carfentanil, which one Stamford judge proclaimed from the bench could have “wiped out” half the people in Stamford.

Carfentanil is a synthetic opiate and animal tranquilizer used on livestock and elephants and is believed to be 100 times stronger than fentanyl, which is 50 times stronger than heroin, police said.

According to a release from Durham, Decaro and Isaku purchased fentanyl analogues from Chinese suppliers and, working out of Decaro’s home at 77 West Hill Circle in Samford, used three pill presses to counterfeit the oxycodone pills to sell to customers in dark web markets.

At the time of the Stamford police raid of Decaro’s home in April 2018, Decaro and Isaku were in Europe. They have been detained since Sept. 21, 2018, when they were arrested by Albanian State Police as they were attempting to cross the border from Albania into Kosovo. A search of an apartment in Albania’s capital Tirana where they had been staying revealed Alprazolam, fentanyl and other controlled substances; tools and dies for pressing pills; and instructions for synthesizing fentanyl, the release said.

The indictment charges Decaro, Isaku and Reichard with one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of fentanyl analogues, and Decaro and Reichard with one count of possession with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of fentanyl analogues.

Reichard was arrested during the raid at the home a year ago and previously entered a not guilty plea to the federal charges.

Both offenses carry a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a maximum term of life imprisonment. Isaku is also charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl analogues, an offense that carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

According to Decaro’s attorney Stephan Seeger, Decaro and Isaku made not guilty pleas to the charges at their appearance in Bridgeport Federal Court before Judge William Garfinkel.