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HUDSON - A 43-year-old Hudson man was arrested Wednesday on charges of trafficking in controlled substances after authorities say they intercepted a package mailed to him from Thailand containing more than 2,000 pills deemed "controlled and scheduled drugs."
According to Pasco County sheriff's deputies, it was the second package Gaetano A. Dibene received from Thailand delivered to him at the Hudson Square Cafe.
Authorities had equipped the package with a tracking device that would alert law enforcement as to when it was opened, deputies said.
But when Dibene went to pick up the package June 22, he fled the scene "when he thought police were watching him," deputies said.
When he fled, Dibene left behind at the cafe a 13-year-old child who later was taken into foster care when Dibene didn't respond to deputies' requests to pick up the child. Authorities did not release Thursday his relationship to the child.
Dibene also was charged with child neglect and possession of a controlled substance.
Dibene, of 10217 Chestnut Drive, remained in custody Thursday pending $30,000 bail.