DOVER — A 24-year-old Washington man was arrested Friday and $250,000 worth of heroin was located in the mail after a multi-agency investigation, authorities said.

Dover Police Department spokesman Cpl. Mark Hoffman described the amount of heroin involved as “extraordinary” and said it was the largest seizure in recent memory.

A package containing an estimated $250,000 in heroin was seized by police in Dover on Friday, authorities said. (Dover Police Department photo)

Police said more than 1,000 grams of heroin were involved and could been packaged into 160,000 bags of .015 grams if cut and 80,000 bags if packaged as pure.

The drugs allegedly were shipped from an undisclosed West Coast location to an undisclosed local hotel, police said, and Julio Fuentes, of 300 block of Owen Avenue in Pasco, was arrested without incident when he attempted to receive it.

Police said the multi-agency investigation and arrest indicated their commitment to combating the local drug trade.

Julio Fuentes (Dover Police Department photo)

“It sends a strong message that the Dover Police Department will exhaust all efforts, including working with multiple agencies, to get heroin and other illegal substances off our streets,” Cpl. Mark Hoffman said.

The Dover Police’s Drugs, Vice, and Organized Crime Unit worked with the Delaware State Police Drug Unit and the DEA to make the seizure and arrest, police said.

Cpl. Hoffman would not comment on whether West Coast law enforcement authorities were involved due to the package’s origination, but noted that the DEA aided in the case.

Also, authorities would not disclose how Dover Police and state police became involved in the investigation.

Charges included possession of heroin in a Tier 5 quantity and possession with intent to deliver heroin.

Police said Mr. Fuentes was arraigned at Justice of the Peace Court 7 in Dover and held at James T. Vaughn Correctional Center near Smyrna in default of $70,000 cash bond.