Investigators Are Seeing A Spike In Drugs Being Shipped Through The Mail

NOXUBEE COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI)- Law enforcement officers spend a lot of time trying to stop the flow of drugs in their communities, but what happens when those drugs are hiding in plain sight?

There has been a recent up-tick in traffickers using the mail and other package shippers to move their product.

“If they can grow it or make it, they’ll ship it,” said Noxubee County Sheriff Terry Grassaree.

Typically, when someone goes we go to the post office, it’s usually to pick up an item.

However, lately some criminals are going to the post office to pick up drug packages that are being shipped in the mail.

Sheriff Grassaree said this type of activity isn’t new, but does come in waves.

This year alone, WCBI has reported on three situations where someone has been arrested for receiving drugs through the mail.

“I believe what’s spurring it on right now is the fact that other places, they’re legalizing it (marijuana) at one point you could not grow it,” said Grassaree. “You would get caught anywhere you grew it, now you can just grow it and just figure out how can you ship it to other places.”

Throughout his 28 years in law enforcement the sheriff said he’s heard of a several drugs being shipped through the mail such as marijuana, cocaine, and even ice.

Grassaree said he believes people are using the post office as an alternate route to get drugs onto the street because they think it lessens their chances of getting caught.

“You got to go through so many states to get to Mississippi,” the sheriff explained. “You got so many highways, you got so big of a chance to get caught, but if you mail it, you’re going to mail it from one end, and the guy got to pick it up on the other end, but they will get you, it’s not if, it’s just when.”

That “when” typically happens when someone from the post office notifies law enforcement about a suspicious package that has come in.

“if we get tipped off, we’ll go to the post office and wait on that person to come get it, because he got to come get it, him or he’s got to send somebody else,” Grassaree expressed. “Then we’ll have to catch them and work it on this side, then we can find out where it came from. It’s going to have an address where it came from, then we’ll have to trace it back and try to see who the person is that sends it.”

If caught, both the sender and receiver will spend time behind bars.

“How much will tell you what they are doing,” said Sheriff Grassaree. “If it’s a small amount it might be marijuana that a friend or cousin is sending them from another state, now if it’s a large quantity then of course you know that’s for sale.”

The sheriff said it’s a felony crime to send any kind of drugs in the mail in Mississippi.

If someone is caught, the amount jail time they receive will depend on the amount of drugs that were seized.