SANDPOINT — A Ponderay man accused of using U.S. Postal Service to import heroin from California is now charged with trafficking, according to 1st District Court records.

Bryson Gerald White was awaiting trial for felony drug possession after he received a parcel containing an unspecified amount of heroin in early June. The suspicious parcel was flagged by a postal inspector in Spokane and delivered to White’s post office box in Cocolalla.

White, 19, was arrested during a traffic stop after collecting the parcel, court records show.

The trafficking charge was added after a second parcel addressed to White was flagged on June 28. White, however, had closed out his post office box and left no forwarding address, according to a probable cause affidavit.

A sheriff’s detective obtained a search warrant from a U.S. District Court judge in Coeur d’Alene. A search of the parcel led to the discovery of at least 2 grams of heroin nested in a series of heat-sealed bags, court documents indicate.

The discovery led to the filing of a trafficking charge and additional charge of possession of drug paraphernalia related to the packaging of the drug.

White is awaiting a plea hearing on the original possession charge. A preliminary hearing on the trafficking charge is set for Sept. 12, court records indicate.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.