Man Arrested For Mailing Crystal Meth Package to His Hotel

Some people like bringing the creature comforts of home with them when they travel, but one man learned the hard way that it's ill-advised to do that with crystal meth.

Robert Bare was arrested last Wednesday after mailing himself a package of crystal meth, wrapped in paper and dirty socks, from Arizona to his hotel in Florida. RT reported that the 24-year-old was in Key West “to party” and eager to try the drug for the first time.

Police spokeswoman Alyson Crean said that the package only listed a return address in Arizona. Hotel staff immediately alerted police after discovering the meth inside the package and a sting operation was planned for when he arrived on February 8. After a short struggle with police, Bare was arrested on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance and resisting arrest without violence. He has since been released on $19,000 bond.

Mailing drugs has become a much larger issue in prisons across the country. Letters and stamps soaked in illegal substances like meth and even Suboxone, a drug used to treat opioid addiction, have been found. In 2014, former chemical engineer William Hahne was busted for sending mail to the Broward County Jail in stationary soaked with 25I-NBOMe, a synthetic hallucinogenic drug. Once it was delivered, inmates would tear off tiny pieces and sell them for $10.

Some jails have already taken steps to address the growing issue. Roanoke.com reported last March that the Western Virginia Regional Jail in Salem, banned inmates from receiving mail with non-white paper or paper with drawings. They were also considering utilizing electronic mail screeners that can detect drugs via near-infrared light.

Meanwhile, the New River Valley Regional Jail in nearby Dublin also banned greeting cards because some inmates were receiving items with liquid drugs injected into the embossed parts of them.

“You can do this with a number of drugs,” said Bobby Russell, superintendent of the Western Virginia Regional Jail. “You can do it with crystal meth. You can do it with drugs you can liquefy.”

The American Civil Liberties Union challenged a similar greeting card ban in New Hampshire jails, arguing that this violated the First and 14th Amendment rights of inmates.