Homeland Security Task Force: Two Connecticut Men Found with 21 Kilos of Cocaine Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison

David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that REGINALD ROGERS 38, of Woodbridge, and LESTER ARRINGTON, 34, of Naugatuck, have each been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to 120 months of imprisonment and five years of supervised release for trafficking cocaine. Rogers was sentenced today and Arrington was sentenced on October 27.

According to court documents and statements made in court, as part of a Homeland Security Task Force investigation, on February 23, 2026, Connecticut State Police troopers stopped a 2024 Subaru Crosstrek in Trumbull. Rogers was driving the vehicle and Arrington was a passenger. A K9 sniff of the vehicle alerted for the presence of narcotics, and a subsequent search revealed approximately 21 kilograms of cocaine hidden in two compartments ("traps") that were installed under each front seat. Rogers and Arrington were arrested on state charges at that time.

Rogers and Arrington each pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. Each is released on a $150,000 bond and they are required to report to prison on January 13.

Arrington and Rogers agreed to the forfeiture of the vehicle.

This investigation was led by the Drug Enforcement Administration with the assistance of the Bridgeport, Danbury, Stamford, and Stratford Police Departments. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Justyn P. Stokely and Lauren C. Clark.

This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement toward identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States.

HSTF New Haven comprises agents and officers from the FBI, DEA, HSI, ATF, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, U.S. Department of Transportation - Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Labor - Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Commerce - Bureau of Industry and Security's Office of Export Enforcement, and Connecticut State Police, with prosecutions led by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut.