Jacksonville men arrested for shipping cocaine-filled teddy bears between U.S. and Puerto Rico

Jacksonville, Fla. — On Thursday, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office along with the Department of Homeland Security, announced the arrest of three Jacksonville men for trafficking drugs between the United States and Puerto Rico.

In an investigation alongside the United States Postal Service, Department of Homeland Security, Drug Enforcement Agency Puerto Rico, and FHP, JSO says Edgar Lopez, 28, Yaddiel Lopez, 24, and Cassidy Martinez-Iglesias attempted to carry out a narcotics distribution network in Jacksonville via the Postal Service.

Drug authorities in Puerto Rico first contacted JSO in January regarding a suspicious package that was to be delivered Edgar Lopez’s residence in Jacksonville. The package contained a stuffed animal, a teddy bear, filled with two kilos of cocaine and a tracking device, according to JSO Director Mike Bruno.

Around the same time Bruno says the USPS discovered a second package to be delivered to Puerto Rico from Jacksonville. Inside authorities found another teddy bear, this time stuffed with cash. The return address was to an apartment complex on Mayport Road where Yaddiel reportedly worked.

Investigators say they identified multiple locations in Jacksonville that the suspects used to facilitate the shipping and receiving of illegal drugs, including private residences and a business address, investigators say.

On Feb. 23, following the discovery of a third suspicious package en route to Mayport Road from Puerto Rico, narcotics detectives, USPS postal inspectors, and a Florida Highway Patrol canine handler met at the Post Office in Jacksonville to determine the contents of box; once again, a cocaine-stuffed teddy bear.

On Feb. 26, an undercover operation was conducted at the apartment complex on Mayport Road where Mike Bruno says all three men were taken into custody. Police seized over 5 kilos of cocaine, $130,000 in cash, various firearms, and BMW.

Cox Media Group