A Philadelphia man is facing drug trafficking charges after he allegedly used UPS to ship multiple pounds of methamphetamine from Arizona to a home in Lansdale Borough.
Zuriel Love, 26, has been charged with two felony counts of possession with intent to distribute, along with misdemeanor counts of possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia, in connection with a multi-month investigation by the Montgomery County Detective Bureau, the Drug Enforcement Agency and a special detective from Lansdale Borough attached to the district attorney’s office’s Local Drug Task Force.
The investigation included combined in-person surveillance in Lansdale Borough and Philadelphia, as well as airline and cell phone tracking, according to the criminal complaint.
Investigators received a call from UPS on Aug. 26 regarding a 13-pound package that was being shipped to a home along the 800 block of Cherry Street in Lansdale Borough. Surveillance of the home showed the package being delivered at 2:28 p.m., and an unidentified male came outside and moved the package into the home, the report states.
The male was seen later that evening entering an Uber with the package, and investigators followed the vehicle to Philadelphia, where the male gave the package to Love, according to the complaint. Love was also seen receiving a “sister” package from an undisclosed location that same evening, police said.
Investigators said they believed the packages contained multiple pounds of methamphetamine. It was later determined through surveillance and tracking that Love had traveled to Arizona on Aug. 25, shipped two packages to the area, then took a return flight to Philadelphia to retrieve the packages, according to the complaint.
On Oct. 22, investigators were again contacted by UPS regarding a 15-pound package that Love had sent from Arizona the day before, the report states. The package was delivered to the same home on Cherry Street in Lansdale Borough, and Love arrived at the home at 3:50 p.m. to retrieve the package, the report states.
Investigators who were surveilling the home detained both Love and the unidentified man at that time, the report states. A search warrant was executed on Love’s vehicle — which contained the package — uncovering multiple pounds of methamphetamine inside of the package, police said.
Like the August incident, tracking showed that Love had taken a flight to Arizona, shipped the package to Lansdale via UPS and returned the following day, according to the criminal complaint.
Love was arraigned on Oct. 23 by District Judge Edward Kropp Sr., who set bail at $500,000 cash. Love was then remanded to county jail after failing to post, and his next court appearance is a preliminary hearing on Dec. 1 at 2:45 p.m. in front of District Judge Ed Levine.
It is unclear if the unidentified male who received the packages has been charged in connection with the investigation, as his identity is unknown.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using court records and the affidavit of probable cause.
See also:
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