A man was taken into custody Tuesday, February 28, and is being accused of receiving around two pounds of meth in the mail.
According to the affidavit, a United States Postal Inspector (USPI) alerted the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) on Feb. 22 that there was a suspicious package being delivered to the Manhattan Post Office from California.
Following an inspection, the USPI replaced the suspected meth with imitation packaging.
A man by the name of Kevin Bacon allegedly went to retrieve the package and DCI agents arrested him in the parking lot of the Post Office on Tuesday.
DCI Narcotics Bureau Chief Steven Crawford says MDCI had a lot of great help with this case.
“Yesterday's case was a good example of multi-jurisdictional investigation involving federal, state, and local partners working together,” said Crawford.
Crawford says this is not the first time they have seen illegal substances being transported through the mail.
“We've seen an increase in illegal drugs being transported through U.S. mail, as well as the various parcel services. This includes dangerous drugs such as methamphetamine and more recently, an increasing amount of fentanyl," said Crawford.
Crawford told me arrests like Bacon's are happening more than you may think and that illegal drugs are coming through other parcel carriers as well as private and commercial vehicles.
He said, “Arrests are happening daily or weekly. Investigations are happening every day.”
On state charges, possession with the intent to distribute ranges up to 20 years in prison and up to a $50,000 fine. Drug units all over the state continue to work on cases like this.
“Our priorities are violent crime related to dangerous drugs and illegal non-pharmaceuticals, fentanyl and then methamphetamine,” said Crawford.
He also adds that there are many resources in the state working together to combat these illegal drugs as well as working to increase staffing.
"The Montana Attorney General is working with the Governor on getting additional resources to bring [into] combating dangerous drugs," he said. "We're working to get additional staff."
