A Tulsa, OK, man who was trafficking fentanyl and other illicit drugs that he ordered through the U.S. Mail is now in prison, thanks to special agents from the USPS Office of Inspector General and other law enforcement agencies.
Drug Enforcement Administration agents suspected that the 31-year-old was involved in a nationwide drug trafficking ring. When they found that narcotics were being shipped to him through the U.S. Mail, they called OIG special agents for assistance.
After identifying the man’s address, the OIG agents used a proprietary data analytics tool to determine that he had received numerous suspicious parcels from multiple states during a two-month period. He was ordering the drugs — cocaine, ecstasy, hallucinogenic mushrooms and counterfeit painkillers — from an unregulated online marketplace and then selling them throughout northeast Oklahoma.
After OIG agents intercepted a package addressed to the suspect, a K-9 from the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office detected narcotics. The agents obtained a search warrant to open the package and found a vacuum-sealed bag with nearly a pound of methamphetamines.
The agents called in the U.S. Postal Inspection Service to set up a sting operation. Inspectors arrested the man at his home after he received the package.
Digital scales, baggies, $3,600 in cash and two semi-automatic handguns were found at his residence after a search. Investigators also found additional drugs in the pantry in false-bottom containers that held legitimate contents on top but concealed drugs underneath.
The man pled guilty to ordering drugs online and selling them — and to possessing a firearm while trafficking illegal drugs. He was sentenced to 17 years in federal prison.
“We’re proud of the partnerships our special agents have forged with the DEA, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and local and state law enforcement in Oklahoma and across the country,” USPS Inspector General Tammy Hull said. “Joint investigations like these protect the American public by disrupting the criminal misuse of the U.S. Postal Service for drug trafficking.”
The OIG recently highlighted the case on its website.
If you suspect or know of drug trafficking involving Postal Service employees or contractors, report it to the OIG.
