Middlesex County man sentenced for bulk mailing of marijuana

UNION COUNTY — A Middlesex County man has been sentenced to six years in state prison for arranging to have eight pounds of marijuana mailed to him from across the country, acting Union County Prosecutor Grace Park announced recently.

Zachary Cohen, 24, of Edison must serve at least three years of the sentence before becoming eligible for parole, after which he will be subject to five years of parole supervision.

Cohen arrived at a Linden post office on Aug. 2, 2013 to pick up his shipment of narcotics, which was mailed from a location in California, according to Union County Assistant Prosecutor Jill O’Malley, who prosecuted the case.

But a joint investigation involving the Linden Police Department and the United States Postal Service allowed authorities to intercept the shipment of eight individually wrapped one-pound parcels of marijuana as it arrived, O’Malley said.

Cohen pleaded guilty in the case in October 2013. He was sentenced Friday Feb. 14 before state Superior Court Judge Joseph Donohue.