Former Postal worker, Brenda Sue Cox was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Anchorage on Monday by Judge Sharon Gleason after pleading guilty to charges of Drug Conspiracy and Possession of Stolen Mail.

Cox was sentenced to nine years in Federal Prison for conspiring to distribute large amounts of methamphetamine and heroin and possessing mail stolen from businesses and individuals..

Cox was a former United States postal employee. When Cox was arrested, she also had hundreds of pieces of U.S. Mail in her possession at her residence and a storage area, that she had removed from her postal route. Cox was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,949.92 to the individuals and businesses whose mail she had in her possession at the time of her arrest.

Cox used the postal service to have large quantities of drugs sent through the U.S. Mail. From August until October she had taken possession of approximately 12 packages sent to non-existant businesses that contained heroin and methamphetamine.

Judge Gleason, at sentencing said that the circumstances of the case were troubling and that Cox’s actions were motivated by greed.

Inspector in Charge of the Seattle Division of the United States Postal Inspection Service, Bradley Kleinknecht, stated that, “The United States Postal Inspection Service is committed to ensuring that the United States mail remains one of the most trusted forms of communication in the world, and that the theft of the United States mail will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

Kleinknecht went on to state that “United States Postal Inspectors are also committed to identifying mail containing drugs, while ensuring that drug traffickers know that the United States mail is no safe haven for them. This sentence sends a strong message to anyone who misuses the United States mail in any way; you will be caught and you will be prosecuted.”