Homeland Security Task Force: Naugatuck Man Found with 21 Kilos of Cocaine Pleads Guilty

David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that LESTER ARRINGTON, 34, of Naugatuck, waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to a cocaine trafficking charge.

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 which Arrington was a passenger, in Trumbull. A K9 sniff of the vehicle alerted for the presence of narcotics, and a subsequent search of the vehicle revealed approximately 21 kilograms of cocaine hidden in two compartments ("traps") that were installed under each front seat. Arrington was arrested on state charges at that time.

Arrington pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, which carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a maximum term of imprisonment of life. He is released on a $150,000 bond pending sentencing, which is scheduled for August 31.

The driver of the Subaru Crosstrek, Reginald Rogers, pleaded guilty to the same charge last week. Arrington and Rogers have agreed to the forfeiture of the vehicle.

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 Labor, and Connecticut State Police, with prosecutions led by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut. The Bridgeport, Danbury, Stamford, and Stratford Police Departments assisted this investigation.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Justyn P. Stokely and Lauren C. Clark.