Arvada Pot Pusher Gets a Year in the Feds

DENVER, CO – Mark Herbert Koenig, 36, of Arvada, Colorado, is trading suburban life for a federal cell. U.S. District Court Judge R. Brooke Jackson slapped Koenig with a one-year-and-a-day sentence on January 25, 2018, for his brazen attempt to run a marijuana distribution scheme through the U.S. Postal Service. Koenig pleaded guilty on October 27, 2017, but it wasn’t enough to avoid hard time.

The bust unfolded over a series of months in late 2015 and early 2016. Postal Inspectors flagged multiple packages originating from Koenig, each raising red flags. A drug-sniffing canine didn’t lie – each package contained significant amounts of marijuana. Between October 5, 2015, and January 6, 2016, inspectors seized four packages containing between 950 grams and 1.6 kilograms of the stuff. Authorities didn’t just stop at the mail; they obtained a search warrant for Koenig’s Arvada residence on January 13, 2016.

What they found inside wasn’t a casual user’s stash. Postal Inspectors discovered a full-blown marijuana grow operation – 123 mature plants, ready to be harvested and shipped. The scale of the operation was substantial, and prosecutors and defense attorneys agreed that the total amount of marijuana involved in Koenig’s relevant conduct totaled a staggering 18,672 grams. That’s over 40 pounds of weed.

“U.S. Postal Inspectors continue to aggressively target individuals who use the postal service to distribute controlled substances,” stated Dana Carter, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Denver Division. “Our efforts to protect the nation’s mail, and postal customers, from illegal drug shipments are highlighted in cases such as these, where repeat offenders are sent to federal prison.” The Postal Service isn’t a playground for drug dealers, and Carter’s team proved it.

The investigation was a collaborative effort, involving the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Arvada Police Department, and the West Metro Drug Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kurt Bohn handled the prosecution, building a solid case against Koenig. The sentence sends a clear message: using the mail to traffic drugs will land you in federal prison, no matter what your local state laws may be.

Koenig’s case is another reminder that despite the shifting legal landscape surrounding marijuana, federal law still reigns supreme when it comes to interstate trafficking. The feds aren’t playing around, and Koenig is now paying the price for thinking he could outsmart them. He’ll have plenty of time to contemplate his choices behind bars.