LANCASTER, PA — a former US Postal worker and his accomplice have been convicted of conspiring to sell a staggering 2,010 grams of cocaine. The daring drug plot was foiled by a joint operation involving the Pennsylvania State Police, the Department of Homeland Security, and the US Postal Service.
Carlos Medina, 57, a resident of Lititz, and Estanislao Sanchez-Diaz, 50, from the Dominican Republic, were found guilty of possessing with intent to deliver cocaine, criminal use of a communication facility, and criminal conspiracy. Medina was convicted on March 4, while Sanchez-Diaz pleaded guilty on February 29 before Lancaster County Judge Merrill Spahn.
The audacious plot began to unravel on March 8, 2022, when Customs and Border Protection in Puerto Rico flagged a suspicious parcel being shipped to a residence in Lancaster County. The following day, a second similar package destined for another Lancaster County address raised further alarm bells. Field tests conducted on both packages yielded positive results for cocaine, with one package containing 1,007 grams and the other 1,003 grams of the illegal substance.
Investigators discovered that both packages were sent to real addresses in Lancaster County, but with fake names. They also noted that the parcels were routed through the same delivery route, leading them to postal worker Carlos Medina.
On March 17, 2022, authorities staged a controlled delivery of a dummy kilo of cocaine along the same delivery route. To their astonishment, they observed Medina hand over the sham package of cocaine to Sanchez-Diaz and another individual in a blue Honda Accord.
Upon questioning, Medina admitted that he had been approached by an unidentified Hispanic male to deliver these parcels on his mail route. He confessed to knowing that the parcels contained illegal substances and revealed that he was promised $1,000 per delivery.
The two defendants are scheduled to be sentenced on May 3 following the completion of a pre-sentence investigation. Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Rall prosecuted this high-profile case, with Pennsylvania State Trooper Jared Fluck filing the charges.
For the latest news on everything happening in Chester County and the surrounding area, be sure to follow MyChesCo on Google News and MSN.