Man Sentenced In Heroin Trafficking, Weapons Case

BRIDGEPORT, CT — A city man was sentenced to 11.5 years in prison last week for heroin and firearm possession, according to a statement from John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut. Ismael Mangual, 43, pleaded guilty in March to one count of possession with intent to distribute more than 100 grams of heroin and of possession a firearm in furtherance of a narcotics trafficking offense.

According to the statement, on Aug. 31, 2017, Milford Police stopped a vehicle Mangual was driving. Mangual did not have a driver’s license, the car was not registered or insured, and there was a six-year-old boy in the back seat without a car seat or seatbelt.

Police searched the car and found a loaded Glock 27 .40 caliber handgun, a Glock 30 .45 handgun that had been reported stolen, approximately 140 grams of heroin, and a digital scale.

The loaded firearm was found in the rear footwell of the car, close to where the child had been sitting, according to the statement.

Mangual’s criminal history includes state convictions for robbery and narcotics offenses.

This matter was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Bridgeport High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force, which includes personnel from the DEA, Connecticut State Police and Norwalk, Stamford, Stratford, Milford, Bridgeport and Trumbull Police Departments. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rahul Kale.