WOODBRIDGE, Va. -- The woman who owns a Woodbridge hair salon got tangled up with crime investigators Wednesday after she took delivery of a package of marijuana.
A member of the U.S. Postal Service delivered the 10-pound parcel without incident to Impressive Creations Salon, 4391 Ridgewood Center Drive Suite A, off Prince William Parkway at 2 p.m., police said.
The woman who accepted the package, Quinette L. Quarles, took it from the postal carrier. Police, who had been tipped to the delivery, swiftly moved in to arrest her, said Prince William police spokeswoman Erika Hernandez.
After searching the hair salon, police went to Quarles' home at 13469 Natick Drive near Dale City, where they found three handguns, bands to wrap cash, a currency counter and agents used to dilute drugs. Investigators also found cocaine inside Quarles' car, said Hernandez.
A day earlier, postal inspectors notified police that drug sniffing dogs found the package of marijuana while it was being processed at a postal facility, said Hernandez.
A woman who answered the phone at the salon Thursday said she knew nothing about the case, and refused to comment further.
The discovery was made during the peak of the holiday mailing period, as the postal service urged its customers to ship parcel post packages by Dec. 16 to ensure delivery by Christmas.
Quarles was charged with possession with the intent to distribute marijuana and cocaine, and possession of a firearm while in possession of cocaine.
She was held on $25,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court Feb. 1.
Quarles' arrest comes on the heels of Operation Medicine Man, the culmination of a month long investigation that on Tuesday issued arrest warrants for 38 people who police said were distributing prescription drugs and heroin to teenagers and young adults.
During the operation, police raided eight homes of suspected drug dealers in Prince William and Fairfax counties. Inside they found heroin, prescription drugs, cocaine, marijuana and several guns, a police spokeswoman said.
Police undercover officers purchased drugs from the alleged dealers, including at one of the houses that was raided Tuesday, in Dumfries.
Staff writer Uriah A. Kiser can be reached at 703-878-8065.
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