1,000 POUNDS OF POT FOUND; 3 IN CUSTODY

1,000 LBS. OF POT FOUND 3 IN CUSTODY

A bad address on a package led Gainesville Police this week to about
1,000 pounds of marijuana, valued at close to $1 million.

Officers placed three men in custody Wednesday who they allege were
involved in the distribution of the marijuana. The large quantity of
the drug was discovered in a pallet of boxes wrapped together in
plastic at Central Transport, a shipping business in northwest
Gainesville, according to police reports.

Employees uncovered the marijuana because they had been unable to
deliver the package, which had an improper address, said Lt. Bart
Knowles, who is in charge of the police department's Special
Investigations Division. They decided to investigate, opened a box and
found the marijuana.

The package was supposed to be delivered to a Gainesville address,
Knowles said. Police, however, don't know if the marijuana was
destined for this area or if Alachua County was only one stop before
the bundle was broken down and distributed to dealers.

Officers believe the marijuana came from Mexico. Knowles said
corporate security for the shipping company was helping police
investigate a similar shipment in mid-June weighing about 800 pounds.
That package went through the same shipping office in
Gainesville.

Police noted that a majority of the recent home-invasion robberies in
Gainesville have been drug-related and have involved marijuana, said
police spokesman Lt. Keith Kameg.

(redacted), (redacted) and (redacted) were being held at the Alachua County
jail in connection with the case. Immigration officials were helping police
confirm the identity of the three men as well as their immigration
status, Knowles said. Officers did not have addresses or ages for the
men Thursday.

After police had been told about the package, one of the men showed up
at the shipping business on Wednesday to collect it, Knowles said.

That man was detained, and police later learned the package was
supposed to be left in a vehicle at the Best Western Gateway Grand
parking lot in Gainesville. Officers set up the delivery on Wednesday
and arrested the other men who police said showed up to collect the
marijuana.

Criminal charges against the three men are pending, Knowles said.
Based on the information in the case, officers may pursue federal
prosecution, he added.