F

Two men were charged last week after picking up a package at a deceased person’s residence as part of a controlled delivery investigation in Newport. The men were not identified.

According to a release by Newport Police Department Chief Maurice Shults, Det. Derrick Webb, of the Newport Police Department, and other members of law enforcement conducted a controlled delivery of suspected controlled substances to an address on Fourth Street. The United States Postal Service delivered the package which was addressed to a deceased person to the front door of the address.

The residence is currently unoccupied.

Agents, troopers and investigators conducted undercover surveillance on the address of the delivered package for a lengthy period of time.

At approximately 2:50 p.m., Thursday, a Chevrolet Tahoe operated by a 20-year-old man, along with a 21-year-old front seat passenger, was seen pulling into the driveway of the address. The driver got out of the Tahoe, picked up the package and returned to the Tahoe with the package before leaving the residence, the release said.

The Tahoe was followed by investigators through several residential areas that were geographically inconsistent with a normal travel path. A short time later the Tahoe pulled into Country Convenience Store and Newport Police conducted a felony stop on the men in the vehicle. When the Tahoe had been cleared, Cocke Co. Sheriff’s Office K-9 Deputy Blake Cupp deployed K-9 Narco. Narco quickly alerted to the presence of narcotics inside the vehicle.

A search of the Tahoe was conducted and a large quantity of marijuana was located inside the box that had been previously delivered to the Fourth Street address. Recovered from inside the box were two separate vacuum sealed packages believed to be marijuana weighing approximately 2 lbs. 5 ounces.

Two other packages containing what is believed to be THC wax/butter weighing approx. 3 lbs. 3 ounces, 51 individually wrapped THC edible gummies and five packages of Vape bars were also included in the box.

A clear plastic baggie containing loose Marijuana was also found in between the passenger seat and the center console of the Tahoe.