BRADENTON, Fla. — A U.S. Postal Service carrier from Bradenton is accused of trafficking five or more kilograms of cocaine, the Department of Justice said in a news release on Tuesday.
Natasha Prieto, 33, provided addresses on her postal route to Angel Hernandez Cross, 37, who arranged the shipment of packages of cocaine from Puerto Rico to the places given by Prieto, the department said in a statement.
While on the job, Prieto separated the packages from other mail and boxes so the cocaine could be easily given to Coss. He would then send the packages to certain addresses, according to the Department of Justice.
On Aug. 15, authorities reportedly seized the packages from Prieto that contained cocaine.
Both Prieto and Coss were charged with conspiring to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute five or more kilograms of cocaine. If found guilty, the pair can spend more than 10 years in federal prison.
The USPS, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Manatee County Sheriff's Office investigated the case, the news release stated.
