West Haven Man Sentenced For Trafficking Cocaine Through Mail: Feds

WEST HAVEN, CT — A West Haven man has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for trafficking cocaine through the U.S. mail, according to officials.

Jean Mangual-Castro, also known as “Mangui,” 35, was also sentenced Thursday to five years of supervised release following the prison term, U.S. Attorney for Connecticut Vanessa Roberts Avery announced.

According to 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 found that Mangual-Castro was “orchestrating shipments of cocaine through the U.S. Mail from Puerto Rico,” officials wrote in a news release.

“On December 20, 2021, after investigators identified a suspicious package that had been delivered to the West Haven residence of Mangual-Castro’s mother, Enid Castro, investigators conducted a court-authorized search of the residence and seized approximately two kilograms of cocaine, a Rolex watch, more than $200,000 in jewelry, and approximately $2,900 in cash,” the news release states. “During the investigation, law enforcement also found at another location approximately three kilograms of cocaine that had been mailed from Puerto Rico to Connecticut at Mangual-Castro’s direction.

“Investigators identified numerous other suspicious parcels that had been shipped from Puerto Rico to addresses connected to Mangual-Castro in Connecticut.”

U.S. District Judge Sarala V. Nagala ordered the forfeiture of the Mangual-Castro’s interest in the watch, jewelry and cash that were seized, according to the news release.

Mangual-Castro has been detained since his arrest on December 20, 2021. He pleaded guilty in September 2022 to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine.

Enid Castro pleaded guilty to a related charge and awaits sentencing, according to officials.