15 Pounds of Marijuana Seized with Help of K-9 Cops

A Southington man has been busted -- with the help of K-9 officers -- in connection with the seizure of 15 pounds of marijuana with a street value of $15,000, police said.

The suspect, identified as Sean Hutton, 29, of 200 East Street, is scheduled to go to court later this month to answer drug charges in connection with the month-long investigation into packages that were delivered to UPS stores in Milford and Stratford, police said.

Investigators from the Milford Police Department Tactical Unit -- along with members of the State Police Narcotics Task Force, Stratford Police Department and U.S Postal Inspection Service -- found a box containing five pounds of marijuana had been delivered to the UPS Store at 167 Cherry St. in Milford on March 4, according to Milford police. The package consisted of five separate vacuum-sealed plastic bags, police said.

Detectives discovered that the mailbox account in the Milford UPS store had been created by Hutton and that the fictitious company registered to the box would receive a parcel approximately once every two weeks from California, according to police.

Further investigation revealed that Hutton had also opened an account at the UPS Store at 7365 Main St. in Stratford under the same pretenses as the Milford UPS store, police said.

On March 29, investigators received information that a package was delivered to the Stratford UPS Store -- and it was consistent with the package seized at the Milford UPS Store, according to police.

Kilmer, a Milford Police Department Drug Detection K-9, was used to identify the package as containing marijuana, police said.

Representatives from the involved agencies conducted surveillance at that location over three days, according to police. On April 1, investigators saw Hutton leave the Stratford UPS Store carrying the suspected package, police said. Hutton was taken into custody without incident, according to the Milford Police Department.

Police say they also found another box inside Hutton’s vehicle which allegedly contained approximately five pounds of marijuana. A Drug Detection K-9 team from the Bridgeport Police Department helped identify that package of marijuana -- which was consistent with the other two packages that were seized by investigators, according to police.

Hutton was charged with possession of marijuana and possession of marijuana with intent to sell, according to police. The suspect was released after posting a $250,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court April 19. Hutton, like all other suspects, is presumed innocent until proven guilty.