Homeland Security Task Force: Illegal Alien Pleads Guilty to Drug Trafficking and Firearm Possession Offenses

David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that CARLOS GONZALEZ NAVA, 26, a citizen of Mexico unlawfully residing in the U.S., waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty yesterday in New Haven federal court to drug trafficking and firearm possession offenses.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in 2025, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service's Narcotics and Bulk Cash Trafficking Task Force, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and Homeland Security Investigations began investigating a series of suspicious parcels that were being mailed from southern California to multiple addresses in New London. The investigation revealed that a drug trafficking organization was shipping large quantities of narcotics, primarily heroin and cocaine, through the U.S. Mail to Connecticut, and that Gonzalez Nava was the primary recipient of the drugs. In November 2025, a court-authorized search of one intercepted parcel revealed nearly a kilogram of heroin, and in February 2026, a search of another intercepted parcel revealed approximately 400 grams of cocaine.

Gonzalez Nava was arrested on a federal criminal complaint on March 11, 2026. On that date, a search of his New London residence revealed four firearms, including semi-automatic pistols and a shotgun.

Gonzalez Nava pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin and a quantity of cocaine, an offense that carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of five years and a maximum term of imprisonment of 40 years, and unlawful possession of a firearm by an illegal alien, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 15 years. He is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford on July 16.

Gonzalez Nava has been detained since his arrest.

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. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Konstantin Lantsman and Natasha M. Freismuth.