Bosnian war survivor gets 6½ years in prison for dealing fentanyl, cocaine in CT

Stamford Advocate ^ | Dec. 16, 2023 | Jesse Leavenworth

[nickcarraway]

A man who turned to trafficking drugs in Connecticut after his family fled war-ravaged Bosnia was sentenced to 6½ years in prison, federal authorities said Friday.

Denis Murtic, 38, was indicted in November 2021 on charges of possession and trafficking of narcotics. In January, Murtic pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl and 500 grams or more of cocaine, federal officials said.

The federal Drug Enforcement Agency's Hartford Task Force had been investigating Murtic since late 2020. On Oct. 18, 2021, investigators made a controlled purchase of 50 grams of fentanyl from Murtic and another man at a parking lot in East Hartford, documents say.

On Oct. 26, Murtic and two others were arrested at an apartment on Wakefield Circle in East Hartford, which federal authorities say was being used as a narcotics processing and packing mill. A search of the apartment turned up tens of thousands of glassine bags and wax folds of fentanyl, a compressed brick of cocaine weighing about one kilogram, a half-kilogram of cocaine, and numerous narcotics processing and packaging items, authorities said.

Prosecutors recommended a 10-year sentence, saying Murtic was importing fentanyl and cocaine from Mexico, including batches of uncertain content and quality.

"There is no question that this is extremely serious and deadly criminal conduct," Assistant U.S. Attorney Geoffrey M. Stone wrote in the sentencing memo.

Fentanyl and cocaine, Stone wrote, "have destroyed the lives of far too many people, families, and communities in Connecticut." He cited statistics from the Chief Medical Examiner's Office on the rise in overdose deaths, most of which involved fentanyl, and referenced an August 2022 article on CT Insider that reported Connecticut residents were more likely to die from accidental overdose than a car crash.

[CatHerd]

Judging by the name, most likely a Bosnian Croat. The family name is also somewhat common among Bosnian Muslims and Serbs, but the first name indicates a Croat. This is a not definitive, just indicative. Regards.

[imabadboy99]

diversity is our strength

[Wdempsey]

Should have been sentenced to death.

Until America deals severely with drug dealers, as does Singapore, et al,
narcotic use will once and for all finish us.

[DesertRhino]

So 25 years ago his family fled, and that’s why he deals fentanyl? Yeah, sure.

[jmacusa]

We need to have at least a year moratorium on immigration and end all illegal immigration.

We're not Motel 6 for the whole bloody world!

[Drew68]

Should have been sentenced to death. Until America deals severely with drug dealers, as does Singapore, et al, narcotic use will once and for all finish us.

Can we include Big Pharma or does this just apply to piddly street dealers?

[Wdempsey]

Knowing sources

[Menes]

I cannot express adequately how much I sympathize with Americans, regarding this whole immigration disaster 😔