The United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) made an unsettling finding in the city of Romulus, Michigan, in the United States. They found a parcel containing more than kitty litter.
The investigation started on August 19th, 2021, when a postal employee intercepted a parcel with a priority label. The package was addressed to Jacob Dupree in Romulus and was sent by Shannon Burkhead in Scottsdale, Arizona.
It was a regular box weighing about five pounds with nothing noticeable. The USPS employee handled hundreds of those in a shift. However, one thing caught the employee’s attention that day: the addresses.
The concern was that no one called Shannon Burkhead lived at the Arizona address. Even more intriguing, there was no record of a Jacob Dupree living at the Romulus address.
Much more than kitty litter
Following some investigation, the postal office brought a sniffer dog to inspect the parcel. As a result, the animal’s reaction alerted them about the package possibly containing something illicit.
They called the police, who obtained a search warrant to open the package. Inside was taped cat litter covering a bag of blue tablets.
Police identified the blue pills as 110 grams of fentanyl, a potent opioid used to treat pain and, in conjunction with other drugs, to provide anesthesia.
For addicts, the powerful painkiller is also a recreational drug. It’s sometimes ingested in combination with heroin or cocaine.
An unexpected turn
Surprisingly, the plot didn’t end there, a certain Jacob Dupree contacted the Post Office a few days later.
The man mentioned his parcel and inquired about the delivery’s condition. He indicated that the package contained “premium cat litter” and confirmed the destination address to Romulus.
Two months later, on October 21th, 2021, a man named Dupree was involved in a shooting and car accident in Garden City.
In the front seat of the wrecked car were a rifle magazine, a box of ammunition, and bags with a large number of round blue pills. There was also a digital scale and $770 cash in the car.
As the suspects departed in another gray sedan, a witness captured their photos with his cell phone. In those pictures, one could see the gray car’s license plate.
Based on the reports, police officers spotted the gray car parked at a nearby gas station, with Dupree sitting in the vehicle’s backseat.
According to Fox2 Detroit, police charged this man with possessing firearms in connection with trafficking, intending to distribute fentanyl, and shipping harmful items. Not exactly just a package of kitty litter!