Police arrested a 47-year-old woman on Tuesday after intercepting a package containing multiple illegal narcotics shipped from Peru to a Santa Rosa residence, authorities said.
Detectives with the Santa Rosa Police Department’s Narcotics Investigations Team received information from U.S. Customs and Border Protection about the package, which was disguised as everyday items such as tea and herbal powders, police said in a statement Tuesday.
After testing the contents, detectives determined the package contained about 7 ounces of ayahuasca powder, which contains the hallucinogen dimethyltryptamine, or DMT; more than 1 ounce of coca leaves, a source of cocaine; about 6.4 ounces of mescaline powder; and roughly 3.6 ounces of a green cocaine variant. All are illegal in the United States, police said.
Investigators obtained a search warrant for the home the package was addressed to and an arrest warrant for the resident, Tahryn Janet Anderson.
On Dec. 23, detectives served the warrant at Anderson’s apartment in the 1200 block of Yulupa Avenue. Anderson was home and was detained without incident, police said.
According to the news release, detectives found about 1.9 ounces of gamma-hydroxybutyrate, commonly known as GHB, along with drug paraphernalia and packaging materials during the search.
“Law enforcement agencies, including the DEA and postal inspectors, actively monitor packages using advanced tracking systems, drug-sniffing dogs, and data analytics, making it surprisingly easy to get caught,” the news release said. “Beyond legal repercussions, the risk of interception and investigation is high, and those involved can face both federal and state prosecution.”
Anderson’s teenage daughter was also at the apartment at the time of the search. Detectives learned Anderson allegedly allowed her daughter to regularly use marijuana, police said. The juvenile was released into the care of a relative.
Anderson was arrested and booked into the Sonoma County jail on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell, possession of a controlled substance and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, police said.
The Mercury News
Leave a Reply