ST. LUCIE COUNTY — A Lauderdale Lakes man was arrested last week on trafficking charges after pot-filled parcels weighing nearly 100 pounds arrived at a Port St. Lucie hotel with his name on them, deputies said.

Damion Thomas, 34, was charged with trafficking in cannabis over 25 pounds and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was released Friday from the St. Lucie County Jail on $75,750 bail.

On Wednesday, a drug-detection dog alerted detectives to four parcels at the front desk of the Homewood Suites by Hilton hotel at 10301 S.W. Innovation Way, according to deputies.

The parcels, weighing a combined 98 pounds, were tightly packed with vacuum-sealed "coffee-like" cans filled with marijuana, said Lt. Frank Pellegrini of the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office.

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Detectives believed the packages arrived by mail, Pellegrini said. A manager told investigators deliveries of large packages to the hotel were not unusual.

"Apparently it's not uncommon for people to send clothes or luggage ahead of them while they're traveling," Pellegrini said.

He declined to say how the agency was made aware of the packages, citing an active investigation.

Thomas's name was on the label of the parcels and someone had booked a room under his name for the following day, according to an arrest report.

He was arrested Thursday when he arrived at the hotel and inquired about the delivery, deputies said.

A second suspect, 24-year-old Devonate Evans of Fort Pierce, was arrested at the hotel on charges of habitually driving on a suspended license and interfering with a law enforcement officer without violence.

When deputies moved to detain Evans, who appeared to be looking for Thomas, he ignored commands and placed a call on his cell phone, yelling repeatedly into the phone, "They're coming," deputies stated in the report.

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A search of a home in the 1900 block of Newport Isles Boulevard turned up property belonging to Thomas along with shipping labels similar to the ones on the packages, the report said.

Detectives believed the delivery was part of a pot-by-post operation involving individuals around the state and beyond, Pellegrini said.

"There are a lot of people involved in this. It's a pretty large operation," he said. "This is not nickel-and-dime."

Eric Rogers is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm and FLORIDA TODAY.

Contact Rogers at 772-978-2224 or eric.rogers@tcpalm.com. Follow him on Twitter @EricRogersFT.

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