WATERVILLE — A city man was arrested Thursday after police seized nearly 2 pounds of marijuana and about $130,000 in suspected drug money in an afternoon search of an apartment on Oak Street.
Edward Dawe, 24, was arrested after officers executed a search warrant around 9:30 a.m. at his apartment at 23 Oak St. Dawe was charged with class B aggravated trafficking in scheduled drugs, and two class C charges of trafficking in scheduled drugs.
Police got a tip about four weeks ago that drugs were being sold from the apartment, Waterville police Chief Joseph Massey said.
During the search, officers found 1.9 pounds of marijuana stored in several large plastic bags and $57,000 in cash hidden in the apartment, according to Massey. The money is suspected proceeds from drug sales, he said.
Bank documents found in the apartment indicated more money was being held by an accomplice in two accounts at a local bank, and after police served a search warrant, the bank froze $73,000 held in the accounts, Massey said. Police are pursuing charges against the accomplice, he added.
Dawe is a medical marijuana patient, and that entitles him to possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana legally for personal use; but the quantity found in the apartment vastly exceeded the legal amount, and that “obviously suggests he was selling it,” Massey said.
There was no evidence the marijuana was being cultivated in the apartment or that any other illegal drugs were involved in the case, he added.
Dawe was taken to the Kennebec County jail in Augusta, where he is being held in lieu of $7,000 cash bail. According to Massey, Dawe was convicted of sale and use of drug paraphernalia in 2009 and fined $300.
A class B crime carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine. Class C crimes carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
This story was corrected to change the address where the raid took place and the time the search warrant was executed by police.
Peter McGuire — 861-9239
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