The opioid crisis continues to devastate parts of the country, especially vulnerable populations.  Because of the severity of this crisis, local and regional governments are now offering the antidote Naloxone (commonly known as Narcan) and fentanyl testing strips free of charge to save lives. Some Drug Trafficking Organizations (DTOs) continue to target the Postal Service to transport and distribute illegal narcotics across state lines. Now more than ever, the work of our OIG Narcotics Strike Force is needed, and a recent case affecting residents of Cleveland, OH, provides a powerful argument for this work.

It started when our special agents identified an address in Cleveland that was receiving parcels suspected to contain narcotics. A joint investigation with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) quickly ensued, confirming the address was associated to a DTO operating there.

Our strike force agents used USPS information to identify suspected parcels in the mailstream. After a federal search warrant was issued, investigators seized the suspicious package at the Cleveland address and found it contained almost 5 lbs. of cocaine. Subsequent findings were increasingly concerning: multiple packages containing a combined more than 6.5 lbs. of fentanyl and an additional 6.5 lbs. of cocaine.

Following the trail, our special agents identified a mail carrier in the state of Florida who was facilitating the drug shipments to Ohio. The same day the Postal Service employee was arrested, a member of the DTO in Ohio was also located and arrested. These events led to a second member of the DTO in Ohio being taken into custody. The USPS employee was ultimately sentenced to seven years in prison and the other two suspects received a combined 15.5 years in prison.

About the OIG Narcotics Strike Force

In 2021 — a year that recorded nearly 106,700 drug overdose deaths in the United States, more than 80,000 of them involving opioids — our Office of Inspector General created four Narcotics Strike Force Teams to investigate drug trafficking cases around the country. When fighting large-scale drug operations, sometimes more than one team is called in to assist with the investigation. These specialized agents often collaborate with other federal partners, such as the DEA, to dismantle and deter drug trafficking organizations in and outside the United States.