Feds grab 11 pounds of marijuana headed for St. Martin’s Press
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Two parcels shipped from San Diego never made it to their destination, the New York publisher St. Martin’s Press. The Smoking Gun reports a post office employee in California noticed a smell emanating from the packages and alerted the authorities. With the help of a drug-sniffing dog and a search warrant, they discovered the packages contained more than 11 pounds of marijuana.
The marijuana was sent from ‘ABTBooks,’ an invented company with a fictitious return address. The drug-filled packages were sent to Karen Wright at St. Martin’s Press in New York City. St. Martin’s publishes popular fiction and nonfiction books, including the bestselling ‘Hungry Girl’ cookbooks.
Yet the intended recipient remains a mystery. The Smoking Gun turned up no St. Martin’s employee named Karen Wright. After trying, and failing, to find a clever literary allusion in the nom-de-marijuana, the website Galleycat asked, ‘Who is Karen Wright?’
The value of the marijuana shipment could be close to $70,000, writes the Smoking Gun, ‘depending on its quality.’ I suppose that’s one way to save publishing.
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