Many drug trafficking charges stem from physical events where people are caught with drugs on them. Typically, trafficking is used when people are moving a substantial amount–the amount is different for different types of drugs, but the rule of thumb is that the amount is more than the person would have for himself or herself–and this often happens in a motor vehicle. However, can you also be accused of trafficking drugs through the mail?
You definitely can. One man who used to work selling drugs before the police pulled over a vehicle and broke up the operation said that he started out by mailing drugs from California to the East Coast. Most of his drug sales came that way, as he had connections at his school in California where he could buy marijuana and connections on the East Coast where he could sell to students at Ivy League schools.
Eventually, he even branched out into states like Texas, and those who were working with him got caught as the operation expanded. When he started, though, he simply mailed the drugs across the country and then had the money mailed back to him.
In telling his story, he even noted that packages would sometimes be lost when they arrived. It is unclear where the packages went, but, if the police were to catch on and intercept them, drug charges could still be handed down, even though he did not physically carry the drugs from one location to the next.
However, it is worth noting that police must get a warrant to open packages. Those who have been charged in Chicago need to know their legal rights, especially if all proper steps were not followed.
Source: Business Insider, “I Went To Law School And Became A Drug Dealer,” accessed Feb. 04, 2016
