Lincoln professor had ecstasy shipped with licorice from overseas, court docs say

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — A Lincoln professor was arrested Wednesday on three felony drug charges.

Court documents say Union Adventist University professor Benjamin Tyner was caught with ecstasy, methamphetamine and cocaine.

The 45-year-old is the director of the university’s History, Politics and International Relations Program.

The case began on Oct. 30, when Customs and Border Protection at Kennedy International Airport inspected a package being shipped from Sheffield, England.

The manifest labeled the package as “Sweets,” according to an arrest affidavit.

And when the CBP opened it, they found a bag labeled “Maynards Bassetts Liquorice.”

But they also found a bag containing 63.4 grams of purple and black tablets. Those tested positive for ecstasy, the affidavit says.

The package was addressed to a house near 56th Street and Pine Lake Road, police said.

So the Department of Homeland Security worked with the Lincoln/Lancaster County Narcotics Task Force and the U.S. Postal Service to have it delivered.

About 3 p.m. Wednesday, investigators said they watched as Tyner took the package out of the mailbox and drove away.

Police pulled him over near 27th and Calvert streets and took him into custody.

Investigators found five meth pipes and almost half a gram of meth under his seat, according to the affidavit.

That prompted a search of his home, where police said they found a tenth of a gram of power cocaine and some used marijuana smoking paraphernalia.

On Thursday, a judge set Tyner’s bond at $50,000.

He is due back in court on Dec. 3.