NEW LONDON, Conn. — A New London man was sentenced to prison on Thursday for involvement in trafficking cocaine through the U.S. postal service from Puerto Rico for over two years.
Raul Robles, 38, was sentenced to 24 months of prison and 3 years of supervised release.
Court documents and statements show that in August 2020, the Postal Inspection Service’s Narcotics and Bulk Cash Trafficking Task Force in Connecticut seized a suspicious package that was going to Puerto Rico, according to the U.S. Attorney District of Connecticut.
$158,900 in cash was revealed in the package after a court-authorized search.
After investigators made a connection between Robles and the stopped package, they learned that his home on Blackhall Street in New London, which he shared with his cousin, Abraham Rosado, had received about 25 parcels from Puerto Rico since September 2019.
Investigators continued to monitor the USPS parcel deliveries from Puerto Rico to the Blackhall Street residence. Multiple packages were addressed to the names of people who did not live there, officials said. One of the parcels that has been mailed to a fictitious person at the residence was searched, it contained more than a kilogram of cocaine.
Robles was arrested on a federal criminal complaint in April 2021. Robles pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute cocaine.
Robles was released on bond but is required to report to prison on April 28.
His cousin, Rosado, plead guilty last month and is detained while awaiting sentencing.
U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Narcotics and Bulk Cash Trafficking Task Force is continuing to investigate the case, with assistance from New Haven and Town of Groton police departments.
Jareliz Diaz is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. She can be reached at jdiaz@fox61.com
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