Five People Charged With Trafficking Fentanyl in Hancock County, Maine
Five people have been arrested and charged with drug trafficking after police and Maine drug agents seized a significant amount of fentanyl allegedly destined for distribution in Bucksport and throughout Hancock County.
Bucksport Police began investigation into suspected drug-trafficking ring earlier this year
In recent months, the Bucksport Police Department has been investigating a group of individuals suspected of distributing significant amounts of fentanyl, according to a news release from Commander Peter Arno of the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency.
First Arrests Made in Penobscot, Maine, south of Bucksport
Last week, Bucksport police and investigators from the MDEA’s Downeast Task Force obtained a search warrant for a camp on Toddy Pond in the Town of Penobscot, Maine.
In the early evening hours of Wednesday, July 13, law enforcement officers seized approximately 1 ½ pounds of fentanyl and over $30,000 in suspected drug proceeds at the camp, along with other evidence of drug trafficking, according to Commander Arno. Three people from Bucksport were arrested at that time.
During the investigation, MDEA Agents and Bucksport Officers were able to determine the supply of fentanyl was coming from a source in Massachusetts.
Traffic stop on I-95 in Bangor area leads to more drugs and arrests
On Friday, a vehicle from Massachusetts, destined for Bucksport was stopped along I-95 in Hampden, Maine. Agents obtained a search warrant for the vehicle, which resulted in the seizure of an additional half pound of fentanyl, Arno said.
In total, the investigation resulted in the seizure of over two pounds (1 Kg) of fentanyl with an estimated street value of over $100,000.
Three from Hancock County, Maine and two from Massachusetts charged with trafficking
Charged with Aggravated Trafficking in Schedule W Drugs (Fentanyl) are: 34-year-old Christopher Warford and 37-year-old Jamie Ward, both of Bucksport; 35-year-old Jessica Adams of Verona Island, Maine; 25-year-old Braile Perez of Methuen, Mass. and 28-year-old Maykel Aybar of Dorchester, Mass.
The Maine Drug Enforcement Agency reports Warford and Ward are being held at the Hancock County Jail. Adams was released on bail from Bucksport PD. Perez and Aybar remain at the Penobscot County Jail. Bail was set between $30,000 and $50,000.
Assisting the Bucksport Police Department and the MDEA in this investigation were the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations, the Maine State Police and the US Drug Enforcement Administration. Arno said this investigation is continuing and more arrests are likely.