Marijuana Shipment Tracked to KY Home, NFL Players Involved
The shipment of marijuana first hit the radar of law enforcement authorities in Eureka, California. The high-grade drug eventually landed in a suburban Kentucky home – where two National Football League players were, according to ABC News.
Jerome Simpson and Anthony Collins, both 25 and both players for the Cincinnati Bengals, were at the home when the package arrived. A third person allegedly signed for the package which was said to contain 2.5 pounds of marijuana. Though all three were questioned, no one was immediately arrested.
According to reports, however, the police found another six pounds of marijuana in the home in addition to a number of empty packages, scales and packaging products – all of which suggest a distribution center.
Tommy LaNier is head of the National Marijuana Initiative, a group funded by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). The focus of his group is marijuana enforcement across the country. He says: “The house was set up as a potential distribution network. They had it all set up to receive supplies of high-grade marijuana from Northern California, and from there, it was being distributed from that residence. All the packages were sent from a pot-producing area of Northern California known as the Emerald Triangle.”
California is a common growth and distribution point for marijuana dealers across the country. More and more, the Golden State is the focus of drug enforcement interventions. It was this focus that led officials to identify the suspicious package at a sorting facility in Sacramento. The delivery of the package to its intended destination in Kentucky was monitored and controlled from Sacramento forward. Federal prosecutors from California as well as Kentucky state and local law enforcement are involved in the ongoing investigation.
The fact that marijuana was shipped across the country for distribution and sale is not novel. Perhaps what is catching people’s attention is the players in this particular case. Simpson and Collins have both been playing for the Bengals for four years. Simpson is a wide receiver and Collins is an offensive lineman. Why would those who have so much allegedly risk everything?
For their part, the players are saying they were not the intended recipients of the package and had nothing to do with any illegal activities that may or may not have been run from the house. Their team is behind them. Jack Brennan is the spokesman for the Bengals. He says: “There’s nothing of substance in the development of rumors that we’re aware of. There’s nothing to hang a hat on at this point.”
What do you think?
