{"id":26965,"date":"2019-08-08T08:42:07","date_gmt":"2019-08-08T13:42:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/?p=26965"},"modified":"2019-08-08T08:42:07","modified_gmt":"2019-08-08T13:42:07","slug":"postal-inspectors-helping-combat-opioids-scourge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/2019\/08\/08\/postal-inspectors-helping-combat-opioids-scourge\/","title":{"rendered":"Postal Inspectors helping combat opioids scourge"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Postal Inspector Kyle Rau works with a Postal Inspection Service group that plays a key role in the fight against opioids.<\/em><\/h6>\n

USPS News Link – 8\/7\/19 – On the day after Christmas in 2017, Wyatt Cox died after overdosing on the drug fentanyl. The loss devastated the 25-year-old Florida man\u2019s family.<\/p>\n

Investigators soon discovered Cox had received a bottle of fentanyl-infused nasal spray in the mail.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s when the Postal Inspection Service got involved.<\/p>\n

The agency \u2014 working with the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Department of Justice and state and local law enforcement partners \u2014 helped pinpoint a suspect who was later convicted.<\/p>\n

The case is one example of how the Inspection Service is helping to address the rise in opioid overdoses, a public health crisis that killed 50,000 Americans in 2017 alone.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Postal Inspection Service\u2019s mission is to protect the mail \u2014 and that includes protecting it from the dangers of illegal narcotics,\u201d said Chief Postal Inspector Gary Barksdale. \u201cThe opioid crisis is a major challenge for all law enforcement agencies, but we\u2019re working together to address this crisis and stem the tide.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Dark web\u2019 rising<\/strong><\/p>\n

The investigation into Cox\u2019s death demonstrates the key role the Inspection Service plays in the fight against opioid overdoes.<\/p>\n

During the investigation, local postal inspectors analyzed mail data and discovered the package containing the nasal spray that killed Cox had been shipped from Madison, WI, which the Inspection Service\u2019s Chicago Division oversees.<\/p>\n

\u201cHistorically, we see fentanyl in powder or pill form. This was one of the first times we\u2019d seen it in nasal spray form,\u201d said Postal Inspector Kyle Rau, who works with\u00a0the Inspection Service\u2019s Contraband Interdiction and Investigations group.<\/p>\n

Working with its law enforcement partners, the Inspection Service was able to pinpoint a suspect: Michael Schoenmann, a Dodgeville, WI, resident and self-described addict.<\/p>\n

The investigators discovered Schoenmann was operating a vendor site on the \u201cdark web,\u201d a part of the internet accessible through special software that can allow users to remain anonymous or untraceable.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe purchased the fentanyl from other vendors, then packaged it as a nasal spray to allow addicts, like himself, to use it undetected,\u201d Rau said.<\/p>\n

During a 2018 sting operation, postal inspectors observed Schoenmann mail six packages. After inspectors intercepted the packages, the suspect was taken into federal custody.<\/p>\n

A search of Schoenmann\u2019s home yielded controlled substances and seven nasal spray bottles that were labeled similarly to the bottle delivered to Cox.<\/p>\n

The Inspection Service is not aware of other overdose deaths connected to Schoenmann\u2019s opioid shipments, which were mailed to addresses throughout the United States before he was caught.<\/p>\n

\u2018Our biggest asset\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

In January, Schoenmann was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison.<\/p>\n

During the sentencing, Cox\u2019s mother, Melissa Cox, and other family members described their loss.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy dearest Wyatt, my son,\u201d Melissa Cox said, according to\u00a0coverage<\/a><\/em>\u00a0by the Wisconsin State Journal. \u201cI have no words. My heart has a huge hole. My life will never be the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rau said the Inspection Service is committed to protecting the mail system from being used for crimes like drug transportation and trafficking. He credits postal employees for their assistance.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are our biggest asset,\u201d Rau said. \u201cWhen they let us know about the suspicious things they see, whether reaching out to us first or telling us when we visit their facilities, it helps us do our job of keeping them and our customers safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Postal Inspector Kyle Rau works with a Postal Inspection Service group that plays a key role in the fight against opioids. USPS News Link – 8\/7\/19 – On the day after Christmas in 2017, Wyatt Cox died after overdosing on the drug fentanyl. The loss devastated the 25-year-old Florida man\u2019s family. Investigators soon discovered Cox […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26967,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26965","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-usps-news","last_archivepost"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26965","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26965"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26965\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26966,"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26965\/revisions\/26966"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26967"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26965"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26965"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26965"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}