A STASH of stolen mail has been found in the back of a vehicle after a driver was seen flinging letters from a car window on the highway.

Cops stopped the driver and discovered a large cache of mail in the back seat of his car, which had “cold plates” on it.

The bust, carried out by Rancho Cordova police in Sacramento, California, follows a surge in stolen mail across the region.

Rancho Cordova Police Department disclosed the latest mail mishap on February 5.

It said its officers recently tried to stop a black Volkswagen Jetta for a traffic violation, but the driver hit the gas, leading cops on a chase down the highway.

As police closed in, the suspect began tossing stolen mail out of the car window.

The chase ended when officers used spike strips to blow out the car’s tires and the driver was arrested on the spot.

Inside the car, police found a large amount of stolen mail and methamphetamine, according to Rancho Cordova PD statement.

The Jetta had so-called cold plates on it – license plates stolen from a similar vehicle.

The suspect’s name has not been released but he’s facing multiple felony charges.

RCPD and the US Postal Service inspectors are now combing through evidence as the investigation into the stolen mail continues.

Angry USPS customers took to the comment section of the RCPD report about the traffic stop.

One person said they spotted the black Volkswagen in crime watch posts linked to multiple mailbox raids.

A longtime postal worker claimed that in his 33 years on the job, he’s seen mail theft repeatedly ignored, even after reporting it to police and postal inspectors.

Others wanted to know what happens next, with one user asking if the stolen mail will be returned to residents.

“Our mail was stolen last month, and we now have a hold on it, so we have to physically go to the post office to pick it up,” the person fumed.

The stolen mail was discovered weeks after another USPS-related bust in the same area.

In December, a suspect was found with a stolen USPS master key which allegedly linked him to a spree of mailbox break-ins.

Rancho Cordova police served a search warrant at a home while investigating the spate of mail thefts across the region, local CBS affiliate KOVR reported.

They recovered a USPS master mailbox box key, police said, along with several pieces of mail that did not belong to the suspect.

Officers said they also found suspected fentanyl during the search.

The unnamed suspect was booked into Sacramento County Jail on multiple charges, including identity theft, possession of a controlled substance, and possession of burglary tools.

In yet another incident, a mail carrier in Roseville was robbed at gunpoint for a postal key that unlocked every mailbox in the area.

TROUBLING TREND

With mail theft cases on the rise, US Postal Service inspectors and local law enforcement are cracking down.

Postal inspectors say criminals are after checks, credit cards, and even voting ballots.

Investigators said such crimes have skyrocketed since the pandemic, with criminals targeting checks, credit cards, and even ballots.

In another case of mail theft, a USPS customer’s personal information was stolen, leading to credit card fraud that cost them up to $6,000 in Crescent Park, West Houston.

Residents in the Houston neighborhood have been dealing with issues with their mail since 2023.

They say at least seven cluster mailboxes have been targeted in the area, with hundreds of break-ins over the past few years.

Another had his bank card stolen, and thieves racked up $2,000 to $3,000 in charges.

Statistics show a concerning trend: nearly 70% of Americans have encountered missing or stolen mail.

In 2023, package theft by porch pirates alone accounted for 115 million stolen items, costing consumers an estimated $9 billion, according to Forbes.

The rise in theft is reflected in official reports, with the US Government Accountability Office documenting nearly 600 incidents of robbery against postal workers in fiscal year 2023—a significant increase from just 90 in 2019.