JEFFERSON TWP — Postal authorities and state police vice officers thwarted the efforts of a pair of township men suspected of using the U.S. mail to receive hundreds of marijuana vapes and a pound of THC wax, according to investigators.

Arrested Tuesday on felony drug charges were Christopher D. Wright, 23, and Andrew J. Steinhiser, 28, after police searched their homes and seized a combined seven-and-a-half pounds of marijuana and more than $16,000 in cash.

Wright remains behind bars, while Steinhiser is free on bail.

A suspicious-looking Priority Mail parcel that appeared Monday at the Saxonburg Post Office touched off the investigation, police said. The 15-pound, white cardboard box was addressed to Steinhiser with a return address in Irvine, Calif. The postage for the parcel was $47.06.

Police were notified and subsequently called in their drug-detection dog, “Beny,” who alerted its handler to contraband in the parcel, investigators said. A search warrant was obtained and the package was opened. Inside, according to charging documents, were 354 THC cartridges and one pound of marijuana wax.

District Judge Sue Haggerty issued police an anticipatory search warrant for Steinhiser's home, where vice officers subsequently conducted a controlled delivery of the re-sealed package.

Police said the parcel was delivered around 2:55 p.m. Tuesday to Steinhiser, who took it to Wright's home about four miles away. Investigators returned to Haggerty for a third warrant to search Wright's home. The warrant was executed at 3:20 p.m.

Officers allegedly discovered and seized much more than just the contents of the California package during their search at Wright's home.

Among the items turned up, police said, was about three pounds of suspected, processed marijuana, $8,993, a digital scale and shipping labels.

At Steinhiser's home, which was searched around 5:45 p.m., officers allegedly seized about four-and-a-half pounds of suspected, processed marijuana, a little more than three-and-a-half ounces of suspected THC wax and 146 marijuana vapes.

Police said they also found a digital scale and $7,393.

Authorities eventually decided the drug charges could be handled at the state level, with assistance from the U.S. Postal Service.

Haggerty arraigned both defendants on felony charges of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and conspiracy, as well as misdemeanor drug charges.

Wright remains in the Butler County Prison on $100,000 cash bail. Steinhiser posted $15,000 bail and was released early Wednesday morning.

Court records showed Wright already has three pending criminal cases, including one for felony drug possession and another for felony fleeing or attempting to elude police.

It was not clear if either defendant has an attorney. Steinhiser could not be reached for comment.