Half Ton Pot Bust in Abington Massachusetts

"We're not dealing with the average dime bag on the corner of the street, we're dealing with direct shipment," said Abington Police Deputy Chief Christopher Cutter.

This is what Abington, Massachusetts Police found when they acted on a tip and busted up a marijuana shipment Monday that they believe came from Mexico.


Prosecutor Eric Drury said, "Unknown parties has paid additional shipping monies to be made aware of the location of the shipment as well as any problems incurred in transit, this is unusual for shipments."

So police met the shipment that contained two crates at a local freight company, just as prosecutors say Tommy Colbert of Brockton, Mass. showed up with a rental truck to pick up the crates.

Police say drug dogs hit on the scent of narcotics, and they secured a search warrant to see what was inside.

After unwrapping layers of shrink wrap and garbage bags, they came to this Mexican newspaper.

Deputy Chief Cutter said, "As soon as we got to that layer of newspaper there was an overwhelming smell of fabric softener."

Drury said, "This elaborate packaging secured a tightly compacted dense green vegetable type substance."

That green substance was determined to be marijuana - more than 500 pounds of it, worth more than one million dollars.

Police took Colbert into custody - charging him with 4 felonies, including drug trafficking.

"Highly unusual, we're usually dealing with, at the most, a pound here, a pound there, but to have upwards of 700 pounds of marijuana that is extremely unusual," said Cutter.

What also peaked their interest is that Colbert is a Boston wedding photographer who has what prosecutors call a minor record.

Cutter said, "We have evidence to believe that the suspect has picked up other shipments from that terminal, we're investigating what those other shipments might have been."

Colbert's defense attorney Richard Lane said in court that his client has been a photographer for more than 35 years, has two children, and has lived in Massachusetts all his life.

Colbert is being held on $40,000 cash bail.

He's due back in court on September 14th.