Press Release
☷Four Charged with Trafficking Cocaine Through the U S Mail
Federal Bureau of Investigation ( By Press Release office)
May 05,2022
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Four Charged with Trafficking Cocaine Through the U . S . Mail U . S . Attorney Leonard C Boyle , Special Agent in Charge David Sundberg of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation , and Ketty Larco - Ward , Inspector in Charge of the U . S . Postal Inspection Service , Boston Division , today announced that a federal grand jury in New Haven has returned an indictment charging the following four individuals with cocaine trafficking offenses:JEAN MANGUAL - CASTRO , 34 , of West HavenJASHON SPEARMAN , also known as “J ” and “Deuce , ” 34 , of New HavenENID CASTRO , 52 , of West HavenMARIA ALEJANDRA PEREZ TORRES , also known as “Alej” and “Alejandra Perez , ” 21 , of Villalba , Puerto RicoAs 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 of this offense , based on the quantity of cocaine attributable to each defendant , 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 faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of five years and a maximum term of imprisonment of 40 years . The indictment also charges Mangual - Castro , Castro and Perez Torres with one count of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine , which carries 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 . He appeared today before U . S . District Judge Sarala V . Nagala in Hartford and pleaded not guilty to the new charges . Enid Castro was arrested on April 22 , 2022 , and was released on a $50 , 000 bond pending trial . Perez Torres was arrested in Puerto Rico on April 21 , 2022 , and is released on a $10 , 000 bond . She is scheduled to be arraigned in Hartford on May 10 . U . S . Attorney 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 . 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 includes members from the U . S . Postal Inspection Service , the U . S . Postal Service – Office of the Inspector General , the Connecticut Army National Guard , and the Hartford , New Britain , Meriden and Town of Groton Police Departments . This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U . S . Attorneys Anthony E . Kaplan and Kenneth L . Gresham through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces ( OCDETF ) Program . OCDETF identifies , disrupts and dismantles drug traffickers , money launderers , gangs and transnational criminal organizations through a prosecutor - led and intelligence - driven approach that leverages the strengths of federal , state and local law enforcement agencies . Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www . justice . gov/OCDETF .
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