An Arizona driver faces drug charges after a hidden GPS device planted inside a package led investigators to stolen mail and methamphetamine, authorities said.
Laura Amundson, 57, was taken into custody after deputies stopped the vehicle she was driving in Camp Verde, according to the Camp Verde Marshal’s Office.
The marshal’s office had been investigating a string of package and mail thefts across the Verde Valley, police said.
Investigators obtained permission from local homeowners to plant GPS tracking devices inside parcels placed into residential mailboxes, according to authorities.
On August 11, one of the monitored packages allegedly disappeared from a mailbox, investigators said.
Authorities tracked the device directly to a Camp Verde residence, police said. Investigators later located a white Kia Sportage connected to the inquiry.
Deputies conducted a consensual search of the vehicle while Amundson was at the wheel, according to the marshal’s office.
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Inside the car, authorities allegedly recovered suspected stolen merchandise, mail, identification cards and financial cards, police said. The items were believed to have been taken from mailboxes throughout the area.
Amundson was arrested at the scene and booked on drug-related charges, authorities said.
Investigators subsequently executed a search warrant at a Camp Verde home, according to the marshal’s office.
That residential search allegedly uncovered more property, multiple firearms, suspected methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia, police said.
One of the seized guns had previously been reported stolen in Phoenix, authorities said.
Investigators said they believe there could be additional victims who do not realize their mail, packages, IDs or financial cards were stolen.
Authorities said additional mail-theft charges may follow as the case develops. Those charges have not yet been filed, according to officials.
The mail-theft allegations remain under investigation, according to the marshal’s office.
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