The U.S. Attorney for Maine has asked a U.S. District Court magistrate judge to order 10 people arrested in a drug sweep through two central Maine counties early Tuesday held without bail pending trial.
The 10 were arrested on sealed indictments handed up April 16, court records show.
“We broke up a major drug conspiracy ring in the early morning hours of today,” Dexter Police Chief Kevin Wintle said Tuesday. “We were assisted by multiple agencies. There were 10 federal arrest warrants that we did.”
The raid was conducted in communities in Somerset and Penobscot counties. Arrested in the raids were Roger Belanger, 57, of Corinna; Mark Tasker, 47, and Greg Tasker, 26, both of Dexter; John Williams, 42, and Cynthia Williams, also 42, of Stetson; and Whitney Chadbourne, 21, Corey Pomerleau, 23, Eugene Moulton, 66, Antoinette Perreault, 46, and Kelli Mujo, 29, all of Harmony, Wintle said.
All of the defendants are charged with conspiracy to distribute 5 kilograms or more of oxycodone or cocaine, except Pomerleau, who was charged with conspiracy involving an unspecified amount of the drugs.
John and Cynthia Williams, Belanger, Mujo and Mark Tasker also are charged with using or maintaining a drug-involved premises.
Wintle said police confiscated cocaine and oxycodone in the raids. The conspiracy investigation has been ongoing for the past year and a half, Wintel said. He said much of the drug activity centered in and around Dexter in Penobscot County.
Participating law enforcement agencies included the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Maine State Police, Dexter police and the Penobscot and Somerset county sheriff’s departments.
James Ross, chief deputy at the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office, said Tuesday’s arrests were not connected to arrests last week in which county deputies executed two drug search warrants in the towns of Detroit and Palmyra. The search warrants in that case were obtained by the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office and executed by two teams of Somerset County deputies, as well as members of the Federal DEA and the Waterville Police Department.
The Detroit search warrant was executed at the 511 Troy Road residence of Raymond K. Ferris. During the search of the residence, more than 100 30-milligram oxycodone pills, 17 bags of heroin, marijuana, controlled pills, drug-related paraphernalia and $594 in cash were seized. The Palmyra search at a Main Street home netted 372 pills, police said, including 240 30-milligram oxycodone pills, 24 bags of heroin, marijuana, a small amount of cocaine, a loaded .25-caliber semiautomatic pistol, drug-related paraphernalia and $346 in cash.
Most of those arrested Tuesday morning were taken into custody at their respective homes, not in a single location, Wintel said. “We had to go to their residences in different towns. That’s why the state police and multi agencies were involved,” he said. “We put them in DEA custody.”
Mujo was arrested in Rhode Island, court records indicate.
Belanger, Mark Tasker, John and Cynthia Williams, Chadbourne and Molton each entered not guilty pleas Tuesday and were ordered held without bail pending detention hearings.
Conspiracy to distribute oxycodone or cocaine carries a penalty of 10 years to life, while conspiracy to distribute an unspecified amount calls for a term of up to 20 years in federal prison.
Doug Harlow — 612-2367
Twitter: @Doug_Harlow
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