BRIDGEPORT - A city police detective was charged Thursday with conspiring to distribute oxycodone, a powerful prescription painkiller.

Detective Jeffrey G. Streck, of Main Street, Monroe, was presented in U.S. District Court on a complaint charging him with conspiracy to possess narcotics and with using a telephone to facilitate a narcotics transaction.

Streck joined the Bridgeport Police Department in October 1993. A hulking man with bulging muscles and a shaved head, he wore jeans and a blue T-shirt during the hearing.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Holly B. Fitzsimmons invited Streck to sit during the proceedings because of an alleged back problem, but he declined. Streck looked down as Fitzsimmons read him his rights and asked if he understood the charges.

Yes, ma'am, he replied.

According to prosecutors, the two charges could bring a combined 24 years in prison and $1.25 million in fines.

Prosecutors offered no details of the case against Streck. A copy of the complaint was not available Thursday in the court clerk's office. It was unclear how many others are involved in the alleged drug conspiracy.

However, acting Police Chief Anthony Armeno described Streck's charges as an isolated incident with regard to the city's police department. No other members of the department are involved, he said.

Streck's been out sick and injured for in excess of six months, Armeno said. It is unfortunate when something like this happens.

Streck has been suspended without pay because of the felony charges against him, pending the outcome of the federal proceeding, the chief said.

Capt. Lynn Kerwin, who heads the Detective Bureau, said Streck's arrest Thursday morning came after an FBI investigation into drug trafficking in which his name surfaced.

A spokesman for U.S. Attorney Kevin J. O'Connor declined to comment Thursday. FBI spokeswoman Lisa Bull also declined comment.

Fitzsimmons agreed to release Streck on his own recognizance, providing he commits no crimes, seeks substance-abuse treatment, surrenders all weapons and does not leave the state without permission.

Streck is scheduled to appear again in federal court March 16 for a probable cause hearing.

Oxycodone, the active ingredient in brand name OxyContin, is a synthetic narcotic classified as a Schedule II drug, meaning it has a high potential for abuse. It is available only by prescription.

Streck declined to comment after the hearing Thursday.