Man arrested for pot package at post office

The marijuana is worth $10,000 to $12,000. It's said to have been sent from California by the suspect.
BY DANIELLE ZIELINSKI 247-7870

July 17, 2007
WILLIAMSBURG -- A Ukrainian man was arrested Friday at a Williamsburg post office after attempting to pick up a package containing more than 10.5 pounds of marijuana.

Alexander Babansky, 32, is being held at the Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail without bond on charges of conspiracy to distribute marijuana and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute it, Williamsburg Police Investigator Ed Schneider said.

Schneider said employees at the North Boundary Street Post Office first noticed the suspicious package addressed to Babansky Thursday afternoon.Postal officials obtained a search warrant for the package, and after confirming that it contained marijuana, called Babansky to pick it up. When he arrived about 10:30 a.m. Friday morning, police were waiting for him, Schneider said.

Babansky told police he purchased the marijuana while in California, and mailed it to himself in Williamsburg, Schneider said. The 10.5 pounds of the drug would be worth from $10,000 to $12,000, he said.

In addition to local charges, Babansky could also face federal penalties regarding the use of the mail to transport marijuana, and possibly problems with his status in the United States.

Babansky is in the country on a student visa, Schneider said, and Williamsburg Police have notified Immigration and Customs Enforcement of the charges against him.

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