A local man was arrested after investigation showed he allegedly had been receiving prescription pills through the mail.

The arrest took place Friday at the Picayune Post Office Annex on U.S. 11, said Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department Chief Investigator Donnie Saucier.

As a result of the operation, Joseph Paul Schenck, 45, of 179 Richardson Ozona Rd., was charged with three counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute.

That day Schenck entered the Annex to pick up a package that was sent to him from Houston, Texas. After signing for the package, he left the Annex to enter his vehicle. Law enforcement officers with the Sheriff’s Department, Mississippi Bureau of Investigations and U.S. Postal Inspectors identified themselves and advised him of his rights, Saucier said.

Schenck opened the package and inside were several Ziplock bags of pills, some of which were identified as dangerous substances, Saucier said. Inside the package were 50 Methadones, 172 Oxycodones’ 1,003 Somas and 1,398 Lortabs.

The investigation began by using confidential information that Schenck had been receiving such packages. Preliminary investigation shows he had allegedly received those kinds of packages about five times in the past five months.

Saucier declined to comment on whether the Houston resident was being investigated.