WATERVILLE — Inspectors at the local U.S. Post Office suspecting a package contained illegal drugs were right.

They found seven pounds of marijuana Wednesday inside a package mailed to Rajesh R. Ramharak, 31, of 84 Front St., police Chief Joseph Massey said today.

Ramharak was summonsed today for trafficking in marijuana, a Class C felony, he said.

The marijuana sells for between $1,800 and $2,000 a pound on the street, he said.

Patrol Officer Duane Cloutier, who is assigned full time to the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, went to the U.S. Post Office on College Avenue early Wednesday to meet with postal inspectors, Massey said.

“He (Cloutier) suspected drugs were in the package so he called for a Maine State Police trooper with a drug-sniffing dog,” Massey said.

“They opened the package that was tightly wrapped in plastic Saran wrap — layers of it — and between the layers there was what they believed to be mustard,” he said.

The mustard may have been placed there in an attempt to mask the odor of marijuana, according to Massey.

“When they opened it, they found seven individually wrapped Baggies that contained marijuana, so there were seven pounds. Each one was about a pound.”

Inspectors held the package; Ramharak called the post office to ask if a package for him had arrived and was told it had, according to Massey.

When Ramharak went there and picked up the package, officers followed him into the parking lot, confronted him and questioned him extensively, he said. Police let him go, but he knew he would be summonsed, Massey said.

They did not arrest him because there were children in the car, and police knew he lived locally, according to Massey.

At around 9 a.m. today, Cloutier went to Ramharak’s home and summonsed him for trafficking in marijuana.

He is scheduled to appear in Kennebec County Superior Court in Augusta at 8:30 a.m. June 12.
Massey said the marijuana came from out-of-state. He said it is too early to say whether there will be more arrests made in the case.

He commended Cloutier and the postal inspectors for their work on the case.

“I think it just goes to show the magnitude of the drug problem, not only in our community but in communities across the state and across the country,” Massey said. “It comes on the heels of the recent robbery of the CVS pharmacy where a quantity of Oxycodone pills were taken.”

Massey said  police are barraged by an influx of drugs and the different ways people acquire them.

“It just becomes overwhelming sometimes to try to keep a handle on the amount of drugs that come into the city and that are used for illegal purposes,” he said.

“We’re ever vigilant. We keep about two full time folks just doing drug work and I could use five.”

The MDEA reimburses Waterville police for Cloutier’s wages, according to Massey.

Amy Calder — 861-9247
acalder@centralmaine.com