A Priority Mail flat-rate parcel intercepted by authorities contained fentanyl worth almost $16,000 on the street, according to court documents.
Guy Lawrence Harper, 46, of Keaau allegedly picked up the package, which was mailed from Costa Mesa, Calif., at the Keaau Post Office on Thursday afternoon.
Two days earlier, postal inspectors notified police that the parcel, addressed to a Keaau post office box, might contain narcotics.
Police had the package sniffed by a narcotics dog, which alerted officers about the presence of an odor the canine was trained to detect.
Postal inspectors obtained a federal search warrant. That led to the seizure of 26.65 grams of fentanyl powder and a small vial with 7.52 grams of a clear liquid, which tested positive for phencyclidine, also known as PCP — a drug used to tranquilize large animals which is used by humans as an illegal hallucinogen.
The fentanyl and PCP were packaged within separate hollowed-out wax candles, according to the documents.
A light-activated beeper tracking device placed in the parcel alerted officers that the package had been opened, and a “hit team” descended on a gray station wagon parked behind the Keaau Shell Food Mart and arrested Harper.
Harper was charged with first-, second- and third-degree attempted promotion of a dangerous drug.
The attempted first-degree promotion is the most serious charge, a Class A felony punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment.
At Harper’s initial court appearance on Monday, Hilo District Judge Bruce Larson denied motions by court-appointed defense counsel Stanton Oshiro to free Harper on supervised release — a form of cashless bail — or to reduce Harper’s $85,000 bail.
Larson ordered Harper to return today for a preliminary hearing.
Harper remains in custody at Hawaii Community Correctional Center in lieu of bail.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.