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Somebody in Long Beach, California sent a Lakewood gas station multi-kilogram packages of cocaine, and the owner has no idea why.

According to an affidavit filed by a Cleveland-based United States Postal Inspector, the owner of the Sunoco station received the first package last Wednesday, opened it, and discovered “two cellophane wrapped bundles of a white powdery substance suspected to be cocaine.” Just before 11 a.m., according to police records, the owner called Lakewood police, who took it back to the department for some testing: two kilograms — 4.4 pounds — of the good stuff.

The LPD called US postal inspectors, who have federal authority to investigate stuff in the mail.

The next package came in two days later, but it didn’t make it to the station: “On Friday, April 17, 2015, Postal Inspectors were contacted by the Lakewood Post Office advising they had received another Priority Mail parcel for the Sunoco gas station which had also been mailed from Long Beach, CA,” the affidavit stated.

The inspector looked up the return address: it was a fake name listed at at commercial mail receiving agency. The inspector’s “narcotic detection canine” signaled there are drugs in there. The box weighs three and a half kilograms. The affidavit is seeking legal authority to open the package.

Doug Brown is a staff writer at Scene with a passion for public records laws and investigative reporting. A native of Ann Arbor, Mich., he has an M.A. in journalism from the Kent State University School of Journalism and Mass Communication and a B.A. in political science from Hiram College. Prior to joining Scene, Doug was a contributing writer for Deadspin.com, reporting behind-the-scenes stories about college sports through public records and developing sources. Doug's work as an enterprise reporter for the Daily Kent Stater was recognized by the Cleveland Press Club (2013 Ohio Excellence in Journalism Awards), Society of Professional Journalists (regional and national Mark of Excellence Awards), and the Associated Collegiate Press. He spent the summer of 2012 working for the Metro desk of the Cleveland Plain Dealer and spent previous summers working for Outside Bozeman Magazine and Crain's Detroit Business. His website is dougbrown8.com.

3 replies on “Somebody’s Sending Kilograms of Cocaine To A Lakewood Gas Station”

  1. Way to put peoples lives and safety in more danger. Please remove the article to avoid further unpleasant interactions.

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