NIAGARA FALLS – If they were Christmas gifts, a city man picked the wrong place to have two packages delivered last week.
City narcotics detectives were waiting for Michael Crumpton when he went to the Main Street post office late last week to pick up the packages that police say contained more than five pounds of marijuana.
Crumpton, 22, of 21st Street, was arraigned Friday in City Court on a felony charge of second-degree marijuana possession. He posted $1,000 bail. A return court date was set for Jan. 16.
Police said Tuesday that Crumpton was arrested without incident just outside the Main Street post office at 2:40 p.m. Thursday.
Narcotics Division Lt. Bryan DalPorto told The Buffalo News that the arrest was made after city narcotics investigators received information from postal inspectors about the planned shipment.
It was unclear whether Crumpton was a go-between or planned to sell the drug, DalPorto said.
“We are still investigating the source and the final destination [for the marijuana], but at this point we don’t know,” he said.
The marijuana was packed into five vacuum-sealed plastic bags and stuffed into two boxes. The bags were wrapped in dirty T-shirts to disguise the odor of the drug, DalPorto said.
City police have seen many methods used to try to cover the odor of the drug, the lieutenant said, including packages filled with coffee grounds or grease. “None of it really works,” he said.
“It’s not very original. We’ve seen it done before,” DalPorto said of the shipped marijuana. “They use different carriers, Fed Ex, UPS. We’ve always worked closely with the postal inspector.”
He said officers found a return address label on the packages, which they will investigate.
The investigation is led by Narcotics Detective John Faso.
email: nfischer@buffnews.com
City narcotics detectives were waiting for Michael Crumpton when he went to the Main Street post office late last week to pick up the packages that police say contained more than five pounds of marijuana.
Crumpton, 22, of 21st Street, was arraigned Friday in City Court on a felony charge of second-degree marijuana possession. He posted $1,000 bail. A return court date was set for Jan. 16.
Police said Tuesday that Crumpton was arrested without incident just outside the Main Street post office at 2:40 p.m. Thursday.
Narcotics Division Lt. Bryan DalPorto told The Buffalo News that the arrest was made after city narcotics investigators received information from postal inspectors about the planned shipment.
It was unclear whether Crumpton was a go-between or planned to sell the drug, DalPorto said.
“We are still investigating the source and the final destination [for the marijuana], but at this point we don’t know,” he said.
The marijuana was packed into five vacuum-sealed plastic bags and stuffed into two boxes. The bags were wrapped in dirty T-shirts to disguise the odor of the drug, DalPorto said.
City police have seen many methods used to try to cover the odor of the drug, the lieutenant said, including packages filled with coffee grounds or grease. “None of it really works,” he said.
“It’s not very original. We’ve seen it done before,” DalPorto said of the shipped marijuana. “They use different carriers, Fed Ex, UPS. We’ve always worked closely with the postal inspector.”
He said officers found a return address label on the packages, which they will investigate.
The investigation is led by Narcotics Detective John Faso.
email: nfischer@buffnews.com