Pubdate: Thu, 25 May 2000
Source: The Press of Atlantic City (NJ)
Copyright: 2000 South Jersey Publishing Co.
Contact:  11 Devins Lane, Pleasantville NJ 08232
Website: http://www.pressplus.com/
Author: Pat Arney

POT.COM: MARIJUANA DELIVERED IN COMPUTER

Atlantic County law enforcement agents were alerted after a narcotics
dog in Texas detected the presence of marijuana in a package headed
here via Federal Express.

EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP -- Law enforcement officers arrested a 35-year-old
local man on drug charges Wednesday after seizing more than 30 pounds
of marijuana delivered to his home in a hollowed-out computer,
Atlantic County Prosecutor Jeffrey S. Blitz said.

County Narcotics Strike Force investigators and township police found
35 to 40 pounds of marijuana inside a hollow computer monitor, a
hollow computer tower and a green container when they executed a
search warrant at the West Jersey Avenue home of Carlos Curry, also
known as Taiwa Ukawabutu.

The street value of the seized marijuana was estimated to be between
$40,000 and $50,000.

Also seized was $1,300 in cash, Blitz said.

Curry was charged with possession of marijuana in excess of 25 pounds,
a first-degree crime punishable upon conviction by a maximum sentence
of 20 years in prison. He was being held Wednesday on $100,000 bail.

Blitz provided the following account of the investigation that led to
Curry's arrest:

In Pharr, Texas, two members of the Combined Governmental Drug
Enforcement and Special Crimes Task Force spotted a suspicious package
at the Federal Express facility there.

A drug-sniffing canine from the McCallen, Texas, Police Department
detected the presence of drugs in the package.

An agent of the Drug Enforcement and Special Crimes Task Forced
alerted the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Narcotics Task Force to the
shipment coming from Texas.

Prosecutor's Investigator Edwin Cintron of the Narcotics Strike Force
intercepted the package when it arrived in Atlantic County.

Strike Force members and township police subsequently successfully
completed a controlled delivery of the package -- labeled "Computer
Monitor" -- to Curry's home, together with a second package that
contained the hollow computer tower.

Curry was arrested without incident as he was driving away from his
house after he signed for the packages, Blitz said.

The case was investigated by Detective Ray Davies, assigned to the
county Narcotics Strike Force from the Egg Harbor Township police, and
Sgt. Steve Hadley, authorities said. Sgt. Dennis McKelvey and Lt.
Dennis Colasurdo supervised the investigation.
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