BOSTON, Nov. 19, 2012—A Roxbury man already on probation for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine was arraigned today after he received an Express Mail package containing a large amount of the illicit stimulant, District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

RICHARD SWANSON (D.O.B. 2/10/60) of Roxbury was arraigned on a charge of trafficking in methamphetamine at his arraignment today in Roxbury District Court. Assistant District Attorney Ashley Wirth requested Swanson’s bail be set at $75,000 bail. Judge Pamela M. Dashiell did not impose bail, but Swanson was held on a probation detainer based on a 2010 conviction out of Roxbury for conspiracy to violate the state’s drug laws in a case that also involved the distribution of methamphetamine.

On Nov. 16, a postal inspector at the Boston General Mail Facility reported a suspicious Express Mail package to Massachusetts State Police, who prosecutors said responded with a K-9 unit that gave a positive alert for the scent of narcotics. The package was addressed to “R. Swanson,” bore Swanson’s Waverly Street address, and had been sent from North Hollywood, California, according to prosecutors.

State Police narcotics detectives assigned to Conley’s office obtained a warrant to search the package. They then accompanied other State troopers, Boston Police detectives, and a US Postal Service inspector dressed as a mail carrier, and delivered the package to Swanson at his address, prosecutors said. Once Swanson signed for and took possession of the package in the building’s common hallway, police identified themselves and escorted Swanson to his apartment.

When officers opened the package, they found a black sock containing a vacuum-sealed bag with 74 grams of a substance that field-tested positive for methamphetamine, prosecutors said.

Swanson was represented by Chuck Mathers. He is due back in court on Dec. 19.

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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.