Two men, one from San Marcos, were charged with felony conspiracy Tuesday after federal officials discovered the men were receiving international packages of MDMA to U.S. Postal Service offices in San Diego County.
Noah Bloom of San Marcos and Shane Davis were arrested by U.S. Postal Inspectors on June 19 when they retrieved four packages, each filled with about one kilogram of MDMA, also known as ecstasy, from a Carmel Valley post office, according to a federal complaint filed Tuesday.
Federal officials first intercepted a drug-filled parcel on June 10, mailed to what prosecutors alleged was a fictitious "James Knight." In the days that followed, three other parcels were mailed to the same name.
A week later, the Carmel Valley Post Office received a phone call from a person claiming to be James Knight. The caller "stated that he would have his room-mate, whose name was 'Shane,' pick up the three parcels the following day," the complaint said.
On the day of their arrest, U.S. Postal Inspectors watched the two men arrive at the post office in a white Tesla. One of the men, later identified as Davis, entered the post office to retrieve the packages and left.
"Then, inexplicably, Davis walked in a different direction, away from the White Tesla. The White Tesla then started to back out of its parking space," the complaint said.
At that point, federal agents moved in on the two men. Davis was arrested quickly but Bloom took off in the Tesla. It wasn't until he was cornered that Bloom stopped, according to prosecutors.
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Davis later told investigators that "he knew something was wrong and had a strange feeling when he was carrying the parcels."
Inside the Tesla, nearly $4,000 in cash was found along with new and unused postal packaging supplies.
According to prosecutors, an investigation found that Bloom had been receiving foreign packages of MDMA as far back as 2016. Some were shipped in sealed puzzle boxes from the Netherlands and were picked up from the post office by Bloom's mother, the complaint said.
The 2016 bust led federal agents to search their home. In Bloom's room, a notebook with pages of USPS tracking labels were found.
Both Davis and Bloom face charges of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. If found guilty, they could face 10 years or more in prison.
