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28-year-old Spencer Chase from Punta Gorda, a city in Southwest Florida, has been accused of ordering narcotics from dark web narcotics, which were delivered to his home via the U.S. Postal Service (UPS).
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In a planned operation, postal inspectors waylaid three packages containing cocaine and methamphetamine meant for Chase and handed them over to the police who then delivered them.
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Police searched his place and found even more drugs—heroin, Xanax, the whole lot. They also spotted an open dark web browser on his computer.
In Punta Gorda, a man was charged with some serious drug offenses. Police say he bought his supply straight off the dark web.
They caught onto him, started grabbing the packages headed to his house, and then showed up at his door with the evidence before taking him in.
The Package Interception & Drug Purchase Allegation
On Wednesday, Punta Gorda Police and federal agents arrested 28-year-old Chase. They’d been looking into him since December 10, after suspecting he bought drugs off the dark web and had them shipped straight to his house.
This interdiction strategy, tracking suspicious parcels from the dark web, is a common and effective tactic. In a strikingly similar case, a US man’s calls to the post office about missing packages led directly to a major dark web drug bust.
The whole thing kicked off when UPS inspectors flagged a package that seemed off when K9 sniff dogs detected the scent of drugs inside that package, which had “Chase” as the return address. When they peeked inside it on December 12, they found 1.1 grams of cocaine.
On January 13, inspectors stopped another package. It was going to the same address. After another K9 alert, officers found 26 grams of meth in those packages and got a second search warrant. Three days later, they grabbed a third package—same deal, warrant in hand—and inside was another 22.3 grams of meth.
The weight of illegal substances recovered from both batches totals 53.1 grams (51 grams – meth, 1.1 grams – cocaine), which ultimately tested positive for being illegal narcotics.
As a result of this seizure, police put in place a plan to deliver drugs themselves in order to gain access and identify the individual(s) who were ordering the parcels, and this eventually led to Chase’s arrest.
The Controlled Delivery and Arrest
A federal agent delivered all three intercepted packages. Authorities took them to Chase’s residence.
Officers say Chase accepted the parcels. He took them into his home. He did not report the narcotics inside. Police moved in to arrest him. Authorities then executed a search warrant on his home and found the delivered packages on his bed.
But that wasn’t all. The search uncovered a significant personal stash. Police found 2.5 round yellow pills. They also found a single, individually wrapped red gummy bear and Xanax bars totaling over 19 pills. In addition, they found a bag of gray-blue powder, which tests revealed contained 3.75 grams of heroin.
Drug paraphernalia was also seized. This included a rolled-up dollar bill and a credit card with residue. Most tellingly, police found Chase’s computer. The screen showed an open, active dark web browser, the same hidden network where, beyond drug sales, criminals traffic in stolen corporate data and network access, such as the VPN and admin access for a Pakistani manufacturer recently sold on the dark web.
Chase’s Statements and Charges
While under arrest, Chase made several statements to officers. He claimed he was “not a trafficker.”
He said he does not sell or deal drugs. He explained his purchases differently.
Chase told police he found the narcotics via the dark web. He said he receives illegal contraband fairly often.
He purchased the drugs for personal use. Chase stated that the drugs were something to help keep him going during his day. He is currently sitting in Charlotte County (Florida) jail with multiple felony charges, some of which include possession of cocaine & trafficking in methamphetamine, two counts.
He has additional charges of possessing heroin and xanax, as well as drug paraphernalia. He has also had a new charge (drug paraphernalia) and will eventually go through the Florida court system as his case moves along.
