SPRINGFIELD, MASS. (WHDH) - A 40-year-old woman is facing drug trafficking charges after detectives found nearly five pounds of cocaine inside her Springfield home where she ran a licensed daycare center, authorities said.
Elsie Pereira was arrested Tuesday and charged with trafficking cocaine over 200 grams, and conspiracy to violate drug laws, according to the Hampden County District Attorney’s Office.
Through the course of an investigation, a state police narcotics team and inspectors from the United States Postal Service became aware of numerous suspicious packages addressed to Pereira’s Pine Street home, authorities said.
A search warrant was obtained for the most recent package, which is said to have contained about 4.5 pounds of cocaine with an estimated street value of $160,000.
Detectives conducting surveillance outside Pereira’s home are said to have witnessed numerous kids being dropped off in the morning.
Pereira was later tracked to a nearby postal facility and was taken into custody as she walked out with the package that was later subject to the search warrant.
Pereira was arraigned Wednesday in Springfield District Court. She was ordered held on $2,000 bail.
She is due back in court next month.
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