Pot Dealers Go Postal

One Malverne, New York resident received a surprise in the mail recently - 14 pounds of marijuana, according to local police.

Tara Conry writes on the Malverne-Westhempstead.patch.com website, "Malverne Police Chief John Aresta said the unexpected delivery was addressed to a home in the village, but contained a fictitious name. When the homeowner opened it up, there were 14 pounds of marijuana inside."

"This is the new way of delivering marijuana," Aresta is quoted as saying. "It appears to be that they are buying medical marijuana out of San Francisco for a low price and having it shipped here to resell at a high price.

"...drug smugglers will pick an address at random from the phone book and have the weed sent there. Then, they'll track the delivery and when they expect it to arrive, wait down the block for the postal truck to drop off the package. Once the employee has left, they'll swoop in and pick up the package - unless, the homeowner beats them to it."

A spokesman for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service says the agency has stepped up its efforts in recent years to crack down on the mailing of illegal narcotics. Recent reports say that since 2007, seizures of marijuana by the postal police have increased four-fold.

Authorities ask if you recieve an unexpected delivery of something valuable or illegal to contact them immediately.

They may let you keep the stamps.

To read the entire article, click here.