Troopers intercept drug shipment for Pottstown man

State police narcotics officers arrested a Berks County homeowner for accepting delivery of a parcel from California containing 3 pounds of marijuana and about a pound of crystal methamphetamine.

Kevin D. Walton, 55, of the 500 block of Birch Street, Reading, admitted to investigators after his arrest Thursday afternoon that he was paid $150 per package by a Pottstown man to accept delivery, investigators said in court papers.

Even though he knew the packages contained a large amount of drugs, Walton did it anyway because he desperately needed

money, police said.

Investigators arrested the Pottstown man, Fabio Valdez-Ramos, 42, after he drove to Walton’s home where Walton handed off the package to him. Police stopped Valdez-Ramos’ minivan at 12th and Green streets. Walton was arrested after that.

Investigators with the State Police Drug Law Eastern Section said they were informed Oct. 17 of a suspicious 17-pound package shipped by a man from Gardena, Calif., that was to be delivered by a parcel service to the Birch Street residence.

Troopers brought in a K-9 trained in narcotics detection to sniff the package. The dog gave a signal that the package contained drugs.

Troopers obtained a search warrant to inspect the package and found it contained a digital safe box. Inside the box were two vacuumsealed bags, one containing a crystallized powder that later tested positive for methamphetamine, and the other was marijuana.

An undercover officer posing as a parcel worker delivered the package to

Walton Walton. Valdez-Ramos, whose Pottstown address was listed in the 900 block of East High Street, told investigators he ordered the marijuana from a friend in Mexico who shipped it to California. He confirmed Walton’s account, saying he previously paid him to receive three other parcels. Valdez-Ramos said he pays about $1,500 a pound for the cannabis, wiring the funds to California, and sells it for $2,300 a pound, turning an $800 profit. Walton and Valdez-Ramos were committed to Berks County Prison in lieu $10,000 bail and $100,000 bail, respectively, after arraignment before Senior District Judge Nicholas M. Bentz Jr. in Reading Central Court.

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