A West Wyomissing man was arrested Friday after a chase that began in northwest Reading, where state troopers say they watched him pick up a large drug parcel delivered to a city home.

Emmanuel Calderon Batista, 22, was taken into custody on North Wyomissing Boulevard in Wyomissing after a trooper used a patrol vehicle to disable his car, investigators said.

Calderon Batista of the 2700 block of Reading Boulevard is charged with possessing and intending to deliver cocaine, fleeing or attempting to elude police, and related offenses.

He was released on $50,000 bail following his arraignment Friday night before District Judge Andrea J. Book in Reading Central Court.

According to court records:

U.S. Postal Inspectors earlier in March intercepted a priority mail parcel addressed to a home in the 300 block of North 10th Street in Reading. After obtaining a search warrant, they opened the package and found several “bricks” of cocaine weighing about 4 1/2 pounds.

On Friday, members of the state police Drug Law Enforcement Division, the U.S. Postal Service and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration conducted a controlled delivery to the North 10th Street address. Before the delivery, investigators replaced the cocaine with sham material, leaving about 50 grams of the real drug inside as a representative sample.

Around noon, the surveillance team saw Calderon Batista park in front of the home and walk to the front door. He returned to his car with the parcel and drove off.

Troopers followed him to a lot at Bern and North Third streets, where he parked and opened the package. When troopers surrounded the vehicle and identified themselves, Calderon Batista sped off, initiating a pursuit.

The chase continued onto North Front Street, where troopers said he drove erratically despite their emergency lights and sirens. They eventually forced his vehicle to stop at North Wyomissing Boulevard and Seventh Street.

Troopers recovered the opened parcel along the roadside where they saw him throw it out the passenger‑side window during the pursuit.

Calderon Batista later agreed to speak with investigators. He told them an unidentified man contacted him by cellphone and directed him to pick up parcels, promising him $200 for each one.

Authorities have long noted that drug traffickers frequently use the mail system to smuggle narcotics into the country.