Police say about $1.5 million worth of marijuana was confiscated after a plan to send it through the mail was intercepted.
Panama City Police say in late January, they responded to the UPS store on 23rd Street. Employees reported three large boxes smelled like marijuana. Police say a K9 also alerted to the presence of marijuana.
The department’s Street Crimes Unit began investigating the next day. They say during the investigation, they stopped a passenger van witnesses said tried to pick up the large boxes from the day before. Officers say during the stop, they could smell marijuana.
Officers say the driver of the van gave them a fake Pennsylvania driver’s license. During a probable cause search of the van, they say they found four more boxes in the back seat with marijuana in a similar manner.
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The driver was identified as Yunqing Wang, 31.
They say in total, seven large packages were sent to Wang, with more than 190 pounds of marijuana inside. He is charged with trafficking in marijuana, possessing a counterfeit driver’s license, providing a false ID to a law enforcement officer, and possession of narcotic equipment.
Investigators said with the number of dispensaries in the area, it creates a unique problem.
”Obviously the people that go out and obtain Marijuana the legal way, we want to support their right and encourage them to do it the legal way. At the same time, individuals that are out here selling marijuana at the street level, majority of the time those individuals are armed. That leads to violent encounters. Those are the individuals we’re targeting and trying to take off the street,” Panama City Police Corporal Kristian Shaw said.
And Investigators say public safety is their number one priority.
Source: https://www.wjhg.com/2022/03/11/more-than-190-pounds-marijuana-confiscated-panama-city/
