NEW BEDFORD, MASS. (WHDH) - A New Bedford man is facing drug charges after authorities intercepted five pounds of cocaine that was wrapped in a package that looked like a child’s birthday gift, officials said.
Neftali Montero-Pellot, 46, is slated to be arraigned Monday in Wareham District Court on a charge of trafficking more than 200 grams of cocaine, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz announced.
Montero-Pellot was arrested Friday following an investigation launched by the Massachusetts State Police Commonwealth Interstate Narcotic Reduction Enforcement Team.
As part of the investigation, detectives developed information that a suspicious package was scheduled for delivery on March 12 to 15 Kendrick Road in Wareham, Montero-Pellot’s place of work.
The package, which detectives thought contained cocaine, was shipped from Puerto Rico. Postal inspectors tracked the shipment and Montero-Pellot was identified as the receiver of the package, officials said.
Authorities arranged a controlled delivery of the package to Montero-Pellot’s workplace but detectives learned he had been suspended and not in the building. Postal inspectors then modified the tracking information to let Montero-Pellot know the package would be available for pickup at the Wareham Post Office.
Detectives armed with a search warrant later found two individually packaged rectangular bricks of cocaine. The combined weight of the bricks was five pounds and they were said to be wrapped to look like a child’s birthday present.
The package also contained a toy and a bag of birthday party favors.
Montero-Pellot was taken into custody on Friday when he arrived at the post office to retrieve the package.
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