Fitchburg man arrested after allegedly accepting drug shipment in Barre

BARRE - A Fitchburg man was arrested Monday after he picked up a suspicious package from overseas containing a large amount of the drug commonly known as Molly, according to the Worcester district attorney's office.

Christopher J. Barker, 28, of 37 Valley St., 1st floor, Fitchburg, was charged with possession of MDMA with intent to distribute. He was arraigned Tuesday in Western Worcester District Court in East Brookfield and was released on personal recognizance. His case was continued to Feb. 11, according to the district attorney's office.

The narcotics squad of the state police detectives assigned to the district attorney's office was notified by Homeland Security Investigations that a suspicious package from Slovenia was bound for an address in Barre. At JFK International Airport's mail facility, a Customs Border and Protection dog alerted handlers to the package, and Customs then contacted Homeland Security.

According to the district attorney's office, the package contained a tan rock-like substance weighing 506 grams and many blue pills weighing a total of 135 grams. The contents tested positive for MDMA.

State police detectives worked with a U.S. postal inspector on a controlled delivery to the address on the package, which was the home of a relative of Barker. Soon after the delivery was made, Barker arrived and took the package, and he was arrested without incident, the district attorney's office said.