All across the nation, federal drug agents are seeing a record number of packages being shipped through the U.S. Postal Service containing marijuana and other illegal drugs.
A recent report from NBC-affiliate News 4 finds that more than 100 parcels packed with feel good contraband have been discovered in the past five months in the District of Columbia alone. The article points out that this is just a drop in drug dealers’ “fuck it” bucket, as there is currently somewhere around 2,000 cases involving postal drug trafficking under reviewed by the U.S. Postal Inspection Services.
When it comes to the types of substances people are comfortable with shipping through the mail, marijuana leads the game. In upward of 35,000 pounds of pot was seized by the U.S. Postal Service in 2015. When considering a margin of error, it is conceivable that thousands of pounds of the mighty herb is slipping through security cracks and making their way to the intended destination.
Although postal officials say the average citizen often considers the shipment of drugs through the mail to be “safe,” it is actually a federal offense that can lead to severe penalties if caught.
But apprehending those responsible is not always an easy task.
Former Maryland State Police narcotics officer Neill Franklin, who now serves as the executive director for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, says these packages are often sent to “decoy” houses, which makes it difficult to determine who is to blame. It is for this reason that these types of cases make up a very small percentage of drug trafficking investigations.
Nevertheless, the U.S. Postal Service still considers this method of drug trafficking to be a threat to the safety of its employees all over the country, so they remain hell bent on finding as many tainted packages as possible.
“Removing narcotics and other harmful substances from the nation’s mailstream is an important part of our strategy that involves safeguarding nearly 32,000 facilities and approximately 625,000 career and non-career employees,” a spokesman for the USPS said in a statement.
