WEST HAVEN, CT – In a shocking revelation, a federal grand jury in New Haven has returned an indictment charging four individuals with cocaine trafficking offenses, including Jean Mangual-Castro, 34, of West Haven.
As alleged in court documents and statements made in court, an investigation headed by the FBI’s New Haven Safe Streets/Gang Task Force and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Narcotics and Bulk Cash Trafficking Task Force revealed that Mangual-Castro was orchestrating shipments of cocaine through the U.S. Mail from Puerto Rico.
On December 20, 2021, after investigators identified that a suspicious package had been delivered to the West Haven residence of Enid Castro, who is Mangual-Castro’s mother, investigators conducted a court-authorized search of the residence and seized approximately two kilograms of cocaine, a Rolex watch, jewelry, and approximately $2,900 in cash.
During the investigation, law enforcement also seized at another location approximately three kilograms of cocaine that had been mailed from Puerto Rico to Connecticut at Mangual-Castro’s direction. It is further alleged that Perez Torres mailed packages containing cocaine to Connecticut, and that Spearman received and distributed cocaine that he had acquired from Mangual-Castro.
The indictment, which was returned on April 19, 2022, charges Mangual-Castro, Spearman, Castro, and Perez Torres with conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute cocaine. If convicted, Mangual-Castro faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a maximum term of imprisonment of life, and Spearman, Castro, and Perez Torres each face a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of five years and a maximum term of imprisonment of 40 years.
Mangual-Castro has been detained since his arrest on a federal criminal complaint on December 20, 2021. He is scheduled to be arraigned via videoconference this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Dave Vatti. Spearman has been detained since his arrest on February 4, 2022. He and seven others were subsequently charged with narcotics distribution offenses in a related case during which law enforcement seized approximately 19 kilograms of cocaine, more than 7,000 bags of fentanyl, and more than $780,000 in cash.
The FBI’s New Haven Safe Streets/Gang Task Force includes participants from the New Haven Police Department, Milford Police Department, East Haven Police Department, West Haven Police Department, Connecticut State Police, and the Connecticut Department of Correction. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Narcotics and Bulk Cash Trafficking Task Force also assisted in the investigation. U.S. Attorney Leonard C Boyle stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Related Federal Cases
- Brandon Spence, Fentanyl and Cocaine Trafficking, Connecticut 2024 · Puerto Rico
- Bernardo Roman-Rolan, Cocaine Trafficking, Connecticut 2017 · Puerto Rico
- MIGUEL TORRES Charged with Crack Cocaine Trafficking, Connecticut 2018 · Puerto Rico
- Ramon Hernandez, Cocaine Trafficking, Connecticut 2019 · Puerto Rico
- ERICK SUAREZ, Cocaine Trafficking, Connecticut 2018 · Puerto Rico
Key Facts
- State: Connecticut
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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