Global Courant 2023-05-01 00:58:13
AUBURN, Maine (AP) — Employees at a Maine restaurant were surprised when they opened a large wooden box they believed was a shipment of mugs they had recently ordered.
Instead, they found a plastic carrier bag containing 14 kilograms (31 pounds) of the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl, with an estimated street value of $3 million, Auburn Police Deputy Chief Timothy Cougle said in a statement Saturday.
The bag had a shipping label with the address of the restaurant, but the name of someone who didn’t work there. Workers who opened it saw something they thought looked like drugs, so they contacted police, Cougle said.
The casket from Arizona that arrived in the town of Maine, about 30 miles north of Portland, was taken to the police station, where a chemical field test confirmed it contained fentanyl.
About an hour later, the man whose name was on the shipment showed up to find the box and was arrested, police said.
Jeremy Mercier, 41, of Auburn, was charged with drug offenses and violating bail conditions. He is being held in a county jail without bail. It could not be determined whether he had a lawyer.
Mercier previously served time behind bars for a 2007 federal drug conviction, Cougle said.
The investigation is ongoing and Cougle said he expects state and federal law enforcement to get involved.
Mike Peters, the co-owner of Mac’s Grill, shared WMTW TV in an email that he’s glad the drugs didn’t end up on the street.
“The overdose cases in our and surrounding communities are appalling, and fentanyl seems to be at the forefront when it comes to deadly victims,” he said. “It’s very sad.”
